Grant’s zebras Chrissy (left) and Janet with their miniature horse pal Jack at Speranza Animal Rescue in Mechanicsburg, PA. Credit Janine Guido.
It isn’t every day you see a zebra in Pennsylvania, but now there are two living in Mechanicsburg, PA.
Speranza Animal Rescue takes in all kinds of animals, caring for them for the rest of their lives. Farm animals, including alpacas, pigs, horses and cows have been rescued by founder Janine Guido and Speranza volunteers and supporters.
The non-profit organization currently houses over 50 farm animals and 100 dogs. Some dogs are available for adoption, while others become permanent residents in sanctuary. All farm animals, including horses, are permanent residents.
“All of our animals remain here at our sanctuary. They will never be adoptable. The only thing we adopt out of here are dogs. We have horses, lots of donkeys, cows, goats, alpaca….we have a little bit of everything. Some have been owner surrendered, but most are humane cases,” Guido said. “We’re all volunteer, no one gets paid. We’re up for saving whatever, as long as we have the means and money to do so. You take it day by day and never know what’s going to come through the door.”
Guido got word that there were two zebras in a feed lot in Texas. It is still unclear how the animals came to be there, but their next stop would have probably been a game ranch or slaughter.
At the game ranches, visitors pay for the experience of hunting exotic game including zebras, making their value far higher than horses headed for slaughter. In this case, the price put on the zebras and the miniature horse that had bonded with them was $14,000, plus money was needed for transportation and initial care.
“There was a thing on a Texas feed lot Facebook page that I shared on my personal page. A lot of people said they would donate. We raised our goal within an hour which was actually incredible. I didn’t expect the outpouring of support,” Guido said.
Chrissy and Janet are both Grant’s Zebras, distinguished by vertical stripes in front, horizontal stripes on the hind legs and diagonal stripes on the rump and flanks. The smallest of seven subspecies of plains zebra, they can grow to 11.2 hands, weigh 600 lbs. and typically live 20 years. Chrissy is three years old and Janet is two.
“There’s a possibility Chrissy’s pregnant, apparently she was around a zebra stud. Her belly is bigger than Janet’s, but I’m hoping she’s just fat,” Guido said.
Can Be Aggressive
Guido tried to prepare for the zebras as best she could by reaching out to zebra owners for information. “They’re a lot like horses - they need their hooves trimmed, they need their shots, they need to be wormed. Temperament wise they’re not like horses. They’re flight or fight and they are defiantly a fight type animal, they have an aggressive nature,” she said.
Fortunately, the two zebras are not as wild as Guido feared they might be. “There’s a lot of people I was talking to who owned zebras. From what they said, I thought I was going to get killed.
I found with these two they’ve obviously been handled at some point in their life. Chrissy, I can go all over her, she takes treats, and I can put a halter on her. Janet is more skittish but she won’t lunge at you or try to knock you over which is a blessing. They take down lions in the wild. She could run me over and kill me if she wanted to,” she said.
The zebras are adapting well and get along with all the other farm animals with the exception of Juliet, an 800 lb. hog. At this point, they are quite afraid of the pig.
The zebras remain closest to their miniature horse pal, Jack. “He’s only 27 or 28 inches tall. He’s in charge. His name’s Jack so (with Janet and Chrissy) we call them Three’s Company,” Guido said.
At this point they are pastured with some mini goats. “We’re working on building another pasture. Now they’re in a stall in the barn during the day so I have more time to be with them. I want to build their trust,” Guido said. “They’re obviously going to get a lot of attention just like the other animals in our care. Right now, I’m the only one handling them, but we have some experienced volunteers here who will be handling them. Right now, I’m taking it slow.”
Speranza Animal Rescue depends heavily on its volunteers and support to help cover bills, which can be close to $40,000 a month for all the animals.
“I’m up for rescuing anything as long as it’s legal in Pennsylvania and zebras are,” Guido said. “They’ll get to live life the way it’s supposed to be, without being hunted.”
For more information or to donate, visit Speranza Animal Rescue’s Facebook page or speranzarescue.org.