Image by Yathin S Krishnappa CC BY-SA 4.0
Seeing exotic animals on a bike ride is nothing unusual these days – when I lived in north Oxfordshire, it wasn’t unusual to see alpacas, emus and even the odd ostrich when out and about for a ride. But a zebra chasing down a cyclist in California? That’s a new one.
The animal – “seemingly pissed off,” according to SF Gate – decided to go after 48-year-old bike rider Marcos Chavez when he was on a four-hour bike ride that took him through the coastal town of Carpinteria, near Santa Barbara.
“As soon as I rolled up, the zebra, he saw me,” Chavez explained. “He heard me and he saw me, and he kept looking at me.”
As we’ve seen in the past with incidents involving bears, a motorist came to the aid of the cyclist, trying to put his vehicle between the angry animal and the cyclist, but the zebra went after the cyclist regardless.
“The zebra started running at me. It looked like air came out of its nostrils,” said Chavez.
He managed to escape the unwanted attention of the quadruped after it tripped over.
“He took three steps, but then the zebra slipped and fell,” he said.
Local social media has reportedly been abuzz with people trying to establish the identity of the animal, as well as its owners – and it appears he goes by the name ‘Maynard’, who lives alongside alpacas in a ranch that until recently could be booked on Airbnb.

9 thoughts on ““Pissed-off zebra” chases after cyclist… in California”
Never cross a zebra!
Never cross a zebra!
Mungecrundle wrote:
I don’t think it’s as black and white as that.
Is that zebra trying to
Is that zebra trying to confuse the lions by pretending to be part of the pride?
Damn you, I spent ages trying
Damn you, I spent ages trying to think of a good Pride joke and couldn’t find one!
Just as well it tripped over,
Just as well it tripped over, according to Google they can run at 65 km/h!
Try cycling past Highland
Try cycling past Highland calves on the Dalmeny Estate and see how fast you can sprint when chased by their sharp horned elders.
the zebra was just trying to
the zebra was just trying to the doctors due to a cough but the doctor told him, “don’t worry, you’re just a little hoarse”.
Rua_taniwha wrote:
Has anyone done the ‘why the long face’ joke?
Air came out of its nostrils?
Air came out of its nostrils? Well of course, it’d explode otherwise.