By Phillip Reese
preese@sacbee.com
Zack and Adrian Reynolds were sitting at the Big 5 sporting goods store parking lot in Carmichael when something strange came running up Manzanita Avenue.
"I looked up and said there's a zebra," said Adrian Reynolds. "It was charging at people. It was in the middle of the road. It already had been hit by a car."
There actually were two zebras running loose Saturday evening. They escaped around 6 p.m. from a Carmichael property as they were being loaded into a truck headed to an Oregon ranch.
The zebras are used at rodeos and to breed with horses to create an animal that is fun to ride, one of the zebras' owners said.
"The zebra is a good animal," said David Mastagni.
His son owns Michael Mastagni Mule Co. in Carmichael. The zebras escaped from the son's property.
He said a dog spooked the zebras, which ran through several fences to their freedom.
One went south and wound up being caught. The other went north, before being cornered. By 11 p.m. sheriff's deputies and workers from the Mastagni operation had coaxed the second zebra into a trailer.
Zack and Adrian Reynolds said they and others chased the second zebra off Manzanita onto Jameson Court, which is a short street with office buildings.
They had little luck initially in corraling the zebra so someone went back to the Big 5 and bought some rope. They used the rope and some chicken wire to fence in the zebra.
Zack Reynolds said they called police but were told the zebra had already been captured, the officer apparently not realizing there was a second zebra.
A teenager tried to take the lead in capturing the animal, Zack Reynolds said.
"One kid said he lived in Iowa and used to tame wild mustangs. He put his hand in the zebra's face," Reynolds said. "Later he got kicked."
The teen was not seriously hurt. The zebras also weren't seriously injured, David Mastagni said.
The Michael Mastagni Mule Co. is in the 3800 block of Marshall Avenue in Carmichael.
Here is the website for the operation http://www.michaelmastagnimuleco.com/index.html
Call The Bee's Phillip Reese, (916) 321-1137.
KTXL: Wayward zebras keep CHP and sheriff's deputies busy
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