The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office is looking into what could be another shooting of a zebra in rural Oelwein.
Authorities said in a news release, a captive zebra had “possibly been shot” in the 1900 block 100th Street, around 1:15 p.m., Sunday.
“Sheriff’s Deputies subsequently responded to the scene and found that a zebra was deceased on the property,” said Deputy Cory Hartmann, in the release. “As part of the investigation, the Sheriff’s Office has taken possession of and transported the zebra to the Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Ames for a full examination and to attempt to definitively determine the cause of death.”
Authorities said the incident remains under investigation as they wait for results from the diagnostic lab.
The owner of the animal, Mike Henninger, said the alleged shooting marked the fourth time one of his seven zebras had taken a bullet, in a Facebook post, Sunday. Though authorities haven’t confirmed the details, Henninger said he too had been hit in the leg, earlier in the year.
It was a little over a year ago that Henninger first spoke to TV9. The interview took place in November of 2017, a few days after Henninger said someone shot and killed the first of his zebras, a two-year-old animal named Taz.
Henninger told reporters he had a suspect in mind after receiving threatening texts, photos, and videos for months. In them, someone could be seen shooting, even roasting a stuffed zebra over a lit grill.