Escaped circus zebras take running tour of Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Police in Philadelphia said they nabbed a pair of suspects that came with their own striped jail uniforms -- escaped circus zebras.

Investigators confirmed the zebras escaped early Sunday afternoon from the UniverSoul Circus outside the Mann Center for the Performing Arts.

"All I saw were two cops chasing the zebra," witness Rashad Smith told WCAU-TV. "We thought it was a horse."

One of the zebras was captured about 2:20 p.m. Sunday and the other was caught about 20 minutes later in a location about two miles away from the circus.

Photos and videos of the fleeing zebras were posted by witnesses to social media.

Twitter user @Key_BlackBeauty tweeted a photo of the zebras running past a Planet Fitness gym.

@JahMari_Couture tweeted a short video of the zebras running into a street.

"Zebras in custody. They are already sporting old-timey prisoner getup ahead of trial and sentencing. Have faith, fellas," Philadelphia Police tweeted.

The circus released a statement after the zebras were captured: "Two zebras briefly went on the loose from the UniverSoul Circus site today in Philadelphia, both have been safely corralled with no injuries. An investigation is currently underway."

Rights group Animal ACTivists of Philly said members did not find the incident amusing.

"Oh it's not funny at all," Marianne Bessey of the Animal ACTivists of Philly said. "It's a really horrific experience for the zebras who probably saw a chance to escape and thought they were gonna maybe get some outside time instead of being inside a small pen. And instead they end up in traffic running and terrified."

The UniverSoul Circus previously made headlines Oct. 31 when a trapeze artist fell three stories into a crowd during a performance. The performer was hospitalized with a lower back injury and later released.