Man hospitalised after zebra attack in Ohio

Deputies told to ‘put zebra down if needed’ after owner says he had his arm ‘bitten off’

A man was taken to hospital after being attacked by a zebra in Ohio, prompting law enforcement to shoot and kill the animal.

Deputies from the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office were sent to a residence in Circleville, south of Columbus, after being called to the area by a man who said, “his arm had been bitten off by a Zebra,” a report from the office stated, according to CNN.

The first deputy to get to the scene was met by a “hostile” zebra charging towards his police vehicle, prompting him to use the air horn and sirens to scare it off for a moment to allow him to exit the car and place a tourniquet on the man’s arm and get him into an ambulance.

The zebra stayed in the area as the man was cared for by medical staff and the report states that the animal was behaving aggressively.

Another man told police that “this zebra is aggressive and to put the zebra down if needed,” the report added.

Bodycam footage from the altercation shows a man chasing off the animal using a large stick.

The zebra stayed away for about a minute before it moved in the direction of the officers. That’s when one of the deputies shot and killed the zebra.

The report states that the officer who chose to open fire said he spotted the zebra walking towards him, seeming to be aggressive. He shouted at the animal in an attempt to scare it off but the “zebra didn’t slow down and kept coming at me”.

WBNS: Zebra bites, injures owner's arm before it's fatally shot by sheriff's deputy

According to the sheriff’s office report, the zebra was a male acting aggressively as it was protecting female zebras in the field.

Zebras are not included on the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s list of dangerous and wild animals, meaning that they may be owned as pets.

The injured man remains in hospital and is in fair condition, an Ohio Health spokesperson said, according to CNN.

The injured man was the owner of the zebras, according to WBNS.