The only explanation of the circus zebra loose in Atlanta
Somebody honked. Six years ago this month, I told you exactly how it would go down. The circus was unpacked in the parking lot beneath CNN Center and the Philips Arena. I parked in there. The animals, of course, held up traffic into and out of the lot, leading to speculation:
Seeing live elephants — outside of circuses, zoos and Africa — definitely makes you wonder. Especially when they're lumbering around the parking lot next to yours. If you drove up behind one and honked, for instance, what would happen?
When we heard this week about Lima the Zebra fleeing the circus and running loose on the streets of downtown Atlanta, we got our answer.
The black-and-white striped animal was spotted all over town — in the parking lot near the Richard B. Russell Federal Building, near Centennial Olympic Park, CNN and on the Downtown Connector. He was finally captured on the interstate near the Grady curve. According to witnesses, he was galloping between lanes of traffic on the Downtown Connector before his capture.
Lima was exercising to prepare for Thursday night's circus performance at Philips Arena when "something spooked him," Drake said. The zebra broke away from his trainers and bumped up against a fence before wiggling through an opening and running off, she said.
And then: "Friday, Drake said they still weren't sure what the noise was that startled the animal." I think the moral here is everyone's a commuter. If a zebra goes to work and messes with your drive in, do what you need to do. But be prepared for the zebra's revenge.




March 13th, 2010 at 10:05 AM
[...] Following up this blog's previous honk-examining coverage. [...]