DANVILLE, CALIFORNIA – If you’ve ever driven up I680 near Danville and seen a zebra casually wandering along the hill beside the road, you might think someone had spiked your morning coffee.
Cows and goats, yes. We see those all the time in California. But an animal mostly known for its presence in zoos and African savannahs? What’s it doing here in the East Bay?
The zebra, it turns out, is very real. It’s part of a menagerie of exotic livestock owned by a prominent family, the Seenos.
A local student newspaper has the best information about the strange roadside zebra. Apparently the Seenos own a lot of land alongside the highway.
Like many landowners in California, they wanted to graze farm animals on their land, both to preserve its rural characters and to cut down on grasses and fire risk.
Most people opt to buy some goats, or to contract with local ranchers to allow them to graze cattle. This family, though, seems to have figured “if we’re going to have animals on the hillside, why not choose really cool ones?”
Thus, the zebra. Although the striped beast is the most visually striking of the animals on the property, you’ll also find alpacas, llamas, and what appear to be long-horned cattle grazing on the land.
If the family’s name sounds familiar, it is because the Seenos are also well known in the East Bay as a homebuilding family. For example, Discovery Homes says it was established by Albert D. Seeno III and has built homes in Northern California for decades.
The zebra has become a point of local pride. A local hike is promoted as the “Zoo Hike” because it allows hikers to catch a glimpse of the zebra and its friends.
It’s also a point of confusion for out of towners. A typical Reddit thread on the topic begins “Did I just see a f’in zebra??”
Yes, yes you did.
Keep an eye out for the zebra next time you’re driving up I680, heading North. Just be careful, and never stop on the shoulder to gawk, as this is still an active roadway.
As to the question of whether you can pet or ride the zebra, reporting from the Stampede newspaper shares that the answer, sadly, is no. But you can enjoy its very strange presence nontheless.
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