An escaped pet zebra has been reunited with its owner after an eight-day search across a Tennessee county.

The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office announced in a Facebook post on Sunday that “celebrity Zebra Ed” had been “rescued safely.”

“Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office is happy to report Tango 82 aviation crews located Zebra Ed and returned him to his owner Sunday,” officials wrote in the post.

The runaway zebra was found near Interstate 24 “in a pasture near the Buchanan Estates subdivision,” the sheriff’s office said.

ESCAPED ZEBRA CAUGHT ON CAMERA RUNNING ALONG BUSY TENNESSEE ROADWAY AS CHAOS FORCES LANE CLOSURES

Video of the rescue shows “Zebra Ed” being lifted high in the air by a helicopter out of a wooded area.

“Zebra Ed” originally arrived in Christiana on May 30, according to officials, and he was reported missing one day later by his owner.

The sheriff’s office didn’t say how or where the owners got the zebra, or where it was being housed at the time of its escape. 

BELOVED PET MAKES DARING ESCAPE FROM ANIMAL HOSPITAL AFTER SURGERY AND TRAVELS 3 MILES TO GET HOME

“Zebra Ed” running along a highway during its eight-day escapade. (Danielle Pitre/TMX)

Deputies said he escaped into a wooded area off Interstate 24, where he was spotted by bystanders “wreaking havoc,” between Joe B. Jackson Parkway and the Epps Mill Road exits.

Deputy Ryan Keach located the zebra near the interstate and shut down one lane of traffic for travelers’ safety on May 31, the sheriff’s office told Fox News Digital. 

“After the zebra crossed the interstate, deputies closed both the eastbound lanes toward Chattanooga and the westbound lanes toward Nashville,” the agency said. 

BABY GORILLA FOUND IN PLANE CARGO RECOVERING AT TURKISH ZOO

A zebra was on the loose in Tennessee after escaping from its owners over the weekend, authorities said.  (Danielle Pitre/TMX)

“Zebra Ed” was not spotted again for several days following the May 31 sighting, officials said.

Prior to Sunday’s rescue operation, Ed was spotted again on Friday, June 6, in a field near Ridgewood Drive in Christiana. The sheriff’s office announced that deputies saw him through a drone camera and were working with a veterinarian to safely rescue the animal.

“We don’t want to scare the zebra,” RCSO Cpl. Sean White said. “We need time to get him to calm down.”

The sheriff’s office did not disclose what is next for “Zebra Ed.”

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano and Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report. 

Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com

Several people are injured after a skydiving plane crashed in Tennessee on Sunday afternoon, according to the Tullahoma Police Department.

The plane departed Tullahoma Regional Airport at approximately 12:30 p.m. and crashed shortly after takeoff, Tullahoma Community Engagement Officer Lyle Russell confirmed to Fox News Digital.

There were 20 people, including crew members, on board when the plane crashed.

“Happening Now: Coffee County – THP troopers are assisting @TullahomaPD at the scene of a plane crash on Old Shelbyville Road,” the Tennessee Highway Patrol posted on X.

FAA, NTSB INVESTIGATING AFTER 3 PEOPLE KILLED IN TENNESSEE PLANE CRASH

During a Sunday news conference, officials said that the plane had experienced an “unknown issue” shortly after takeoff that “resulted in an impact on trees and terrain.”

Three people were taken to local hospitals for medical treatment via helicopter, while one victim was sent by ground transport for more serious injuries, Russell said. Other minor injuries were treated by first responders at the scene.

There are no fatalities reported at this time.

FAA INVESTIGATING UPSTATE NEW YORK PLANE CRASH WITH 6 PEOPLE ON BOARD 

The sheriff’s office said the skydiving plane involved in a crash in Tennessee on Sunday was a DeHaviland DH-6 Twin Otter.  (Tennessee Highway Patrol)

“We are grateful the injuries were limited, and our hearts and minds are with those who went through this accident and their upcoming recovery,” officials said during the news conference.

The sheriff’s office said the skydiving plane was a DeHaviland DH-6 Twin Otter. 

“No ground facilities or airport facilities were damaged and there were no injuries reported from the ground,” officials added. 

DELTA UP-SIDE-DOWN PLANE CRASH AT TORONTO AIRPORT MARKS NORTH AMERICA’S 4TH MAJOR AVIATION DISASTER IN A MONTH

Twenty people were on the plane when it crashed shortly after takeoff. (Tennessee Highway Patrol)

Authorities said this is an active scene and local officials will provide more updates as they become available. 

Multiple injuries were reported, though the sheriff’s office said there were no fatalities. (Tennessee Highway Patrol)

Officials are urging residents to avoid the area while the investigation continues.

The FAA responded to the scene and is working with local airport personnel, officials said, adding that the National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) will be taking over the investigation. 

Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com

The defeat of Santa Ono, as the sole nominee to lead the University of Florida, is a success for Florida but also for the higher education system across the country.  

For a long time, our best universities fell like dominoes to the woke mind virus. Schools where rigor and merit were meant to flourish became institutions of identity politics and far-out leftism. They moved seamlessly from safe spaces to land acknowledgements to anti-Israel encampments. Education was an afterthought. 

Ono was the former University of Michigan president. For Michigan, he was considered a “moderate.” A moderate in this case meant someone who promised, in his inauguration speech in 2023, to implement “DEI 2.0” and described racism as “one of America’s original sins.”  

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA PRESIDENTIAL PICK REJECTED BY STATE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OVER PAST DEI SUPPORT

In the strategy document for that DEI 2.0, the plan was to “emphasize DEI in terms of strategic priorities; build a campuswide effort; develop institutional and constituent capacity to implement and improve DEI initiatives; fully institutionalize DEI into the university; and ensure continued progress and long-term sustainability.” 

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In his previous role as president and vice-chancellor of the University of British Columbia, Ono made land acknowledgments and wrote an op-ed about the “systemic racial inequities” that “permeate the halls of academia.” 

Ono clearly had a lifelong devotion to inserting leftist politics in his roles.  

WATCH: UNEARTHED FOOTAGE EXPOSES MEDICAL SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS PLEDGING TO RESIST TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDERS

After October 7, he said he would commit the University of Michigan to “a shared commitment to pluralism, to mutual respect and to freedom of speech and diversity of thought.” That didn’t happen. Radical anti-Israel protesters were able to frequently interrupt events with no repercussions and the free speech of those who disagreed with them went unprotected. 

Over the last few weeks, Ono had been on something of a rehabilitation tour. In an op-ed in early May, Ono wrote that he agreed “with the state leadership’s vision and values for public higher education” and that, “Public universities have a responsibility to remain grounded in academic excellence, intellectual diversity and student achievement. That means rejecting ideological capture, upholding the rule of law, and creating a culture where rigorous thinking and open dialogue flourish.”  

But just a month earlier, in April, Ono had signed an anti-Trump letter as the administration used pressure to force universities receiving public funds to curtail illegal activities on their campuses. Ono had his name scrubbed from the letter once he was being considered for the UF role. His flip-flop had been so sudden that it was impossible to trust. Of course, people develop and change over the course of their lives, and it’s possible Ono has realized how damaging his past support for these far-left policies had been, but the recency of his conversion had given many pause.  

UNIVERSITIES FACING ‘IMPOSSIBLE SITUATION’ AS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CRACKS DOWN ON DEI: REPORT

Success has many fathers, of course, and a number of people and organizations are rushing to take credit for knocking down the Ono pick. But the real credit goes to the Florida Board of Governors, the majority of whom were appointed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. It took guts to overturn the unanimous vote for Santa Ono of the University of Florida Board of Trustees and stand strong against someone who was seen as a prestigious choice for UF. The BoG final vote was 10–6 with one member abstaining. 

Several members of the Board of Governors asked excellent, probing questions of Ono, trying to get to the bottom of his beliefs. Vice Chair of the Board of Governors Alan Levine, in particular, asked pointed questions about Ono’s lack of response to the anti-Israel protests that had rocked the UM campus. Ono didn’t have a great answer on why he took so little action to stop the encampments, the vandalism or the interruptions of events at UM. “Antisemitism will not rear its head again,” Ono promised. Not at the University of Florida it won’t. 

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