South Korea: a zebra returns to the zoo after a trip to Seoul

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A zebra that escaped from its enclosure that had roamed free for hours in central Seoul, becoming an internet star, has returned safely to the zoo, officials said on Friday. 'AFP. 

Sero the zebra is back in its enclosure in “stable and healthy condition”, a Seoul Children's Grand Park official said, after the animal spent three hours on Thursday trotting along roads and dodging cars before eventually being cornered by park rangers.

Three-year-old Sero was captured using a security gate after entering a narrow alley and was tranquilized . Photos posted on social media show him being carried, asleep, to the zoo.

Sero was a bit of a 'mommy's boy' and had tantrums before, according to the zoo

He began behaving erratically after his parents died – his mother in 2020 and his father two years later – according to a video posted in January on the zoo's YouTube channel.

“He didn't want to go back to his enclosure and got into a fight with a kangaroo,” the video explains.

The people caring for him started giving him special snacks and fruit to try to prevent him from “wandering,” she adds, but to no avail.

His brief adventure through the congested streets of Seoul propelled Sero to internet stardom, spawning thousands of videos and of Korean-language social media memes.

A video shows Sero calmly walking through a maze of stationary cars, while a witness to the scene exclaims, “Oh, he is beautiful!”

Other netizens noted that his escape highlighted the plight of zoo animals.

“I cried after my mother said that vs was maybe the first time he ran in a long time,” one person wrote on Twitter.