Given, well, everything, you might have forgotten that there were two zebras that remained on the loose in Prince George’s County, months after their escape from an Upper Marlboro farm in late August.

Now, it appears that the striped equines are back with their herd in Upper Marlboro. WUSA 9 first reported that they were no longer on the loose.

The Prince George’s County Department of the Environment says in a statement that the roaming zebras returned to the herd last week. Despite the various attempts to bring the zebras back to the farm, neither the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nor the Prince George’s County Animal Services Facility and Adoption Center was involved in their direct capture, according to the statement.

“The zebras were lured back to a feeding bin where they were captured by the property owner,” county spokesperson Linda Lowe said over email, confirming that the two escapees joined the rest of their remaining herd on the Upper Marlboro property. The county will continue its ongoing investigation into the zebras and their owner, Jerry Holly.

The zebras’ bolt for freedom captivated the region, but it soon became clear that the getaway hid a more sordid tale. One of three escaped zebras was found dead in a snare trap in mid-September. DCist/WAMU reported that Holly and his exotic animal breeding business have been cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for more than 100 violations of the Animal Welfare Act.

In October, Holly was charged with three counts of animal cruelty over the zebras’ escape in Prince George’s County District Court, with court documents making public an additional dead zebra and the “inexplicable loss” of another from what was initially a 39-strong herd.

Inspection reports released from the USDA in November cited Holly’s Upper Marlboro property for five violations of the Animal Welfare Act related to the handling of the zebras, including that the animals “were not handled in a manner that demonstrated the licensee and staff were knowledgeable of the handling of zebras.” Their escape, per the USDA, stems back to August 22, when the zebras arrived on the property, leading the agency to surmise that they got away during the unloading process.

Previously:
Escaped Zebra Owner Charged With Animal Cruelty Amid Another Alleged Zebra Death
Behind The Zebra Escape Is An Exotic Animal Breeding Business With Dozens Of Animal Welfare Violations
One Of The Escaped Zebras In Prince George’s County Died
Could The Escaped Zebras Survive Roaming Around Prince George’s County Forever?

This story has been updated with additional information from Prince George’s County.