May 28, 2026

Zeus the Zebra escapes twice in four days

Show Notes
Transcript

Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: Aubrey, a manager at an Applebee’s in Michigan, guided staff and dozens of customers into a windowless prep kitchen and pulled people in from outside just before a tornado hit, with glass shattering as it passed. In Venice, the Galleria dell’Accademia is letting visitors watch conservators restore Giovanni Bellini’s 500-year-old "Madonna and Child Enthroned" in real time, a two-year, $580,000 project using UV and infrared imaging to remove old varnish, repair wood-panel damage, and restore color. On the Isle of Man, volunteers planted 30,000 trees in three years to revive a rare temperate rainforest. Adriana rehabilitated Stevie the betta fish from a tiny cup to a proper aquarium, transforming his color and fins and highlighting fish-care needs. In Lincoln, California, officials recaptured Zeus the zebra after two escapes in four days.

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Caloroga Shark Media. Hi there, I'm Johnny Mack with five

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good news stories. Nice job by Aubrey, the manager of

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an Applebee's in Michigan. Aubrey being praised after guiding dozens

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of people to safety as a tornado struck the Applebees.

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She said, we got a tornado warning. We're like, oh,

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there's it's no way, It's beautiful outside. Then it turned

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very serious, very quickly. She noticed the conditions getting worse,

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soft funnel cloud forming. She gathered staff and customers and

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directed them into a windowless prep kitchen for a shelter.

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She also brought people in from outside. A man was

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walking his dog. There was a boy waiting outside, she said,

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I think he was waiting for his dad or something.

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I don't know, but I grabbed his arm and dragged

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him to the back and everything. Then the tornado hit.

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She said, your ears were popping, But then you could

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also hear the glass shattering from the dining room. It

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sounded like a free train. I was surprised that I

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was able to get everybody and be that organized in

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a short amount of time. I've been called a hero

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a lot lately, and I laugh it off, but I

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guess it did what I had to do. Visitors doing

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museum and Venice can now launch the restoration of a

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five hundred year old Renaissance masterpiece in real time. Conservators

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at the Galleria dell Academia have moved a large altarpiece

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by Giovanni Bellini into a specifically designed workplace where the

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public can watch the conservation process. The painting is Madonna

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and Child Enthroned, who was created between fourteen seventy eight

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and the late fourteen eighties for the Church of San Giobe.

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Made from thirteen panels of poplar wood, the artwork has

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undergone multiple restoration efforts over the centuries. The current work

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will include diagnostic analysis using ultraviolet, fluorescent and infrared imaging

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to study the materials and techniques used by Bellini. Conservators

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plan to remove old varnish, repair structural damage caused by

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the expansion and contraction of the wood, and clean accumulated

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dirt to restore the painting's original collar. This should take

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about two years and is funded by a five hundred

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and eighty thousand dollars grant from Venetian Heritage. On the

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Isle of Man, a reforestation project has exceeded expectations after

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volunteers planted thirty thousand trees to restore a ring temperate rainforest.

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Chief Executive Graham says temperate rainforest could be described as

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plants growing on plants growing on plants. To plant thirty

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thousand trees in three years is incredible work and our

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volunteers should really be proud of that. Office'll say the

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restored rainforest will support a range of plants and animal species,

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and may even reintroduce greazing animals, helping to rebuild a

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self sustaining ecosystem. Good news for Stevie, the beta fish.

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Stevie discovered by Adriana, a experienced fish keeper. She ran

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into Stevie and Stevie looked pale, frail, and lifeless, and

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was kept in a small, unfiltered cup of water. Adriana

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brought Stevie home placed him in a proper aquarium with clean,

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heated water plants. Within a couple of weeks, Stevie's dull

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white body developed orange spots, which was soon overtaken by

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blue coloration. Stevie's fins grew longer and more elaborate. Adriana

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compared the change to a Pokemon evolution. Stevie is using

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the story to push back on the common belief that

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fish are easy started and reminds us that even small

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changes in care can completely alter an animal's quality of life. Well,

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good news, we caught Zeus the Zebra again. Zeus escaped

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from his house in Lincoln, California, not once, but twice

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in four days. Zeus was spotted roaming around town. This

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was an actual zebra, not one of those painted donkeys

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that I told you about on a recent episode. This

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an actual zebra. I think the officials have kind of

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had it because a couple days earlier, Zeus had made

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another break for it and spent the night in custody

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with animal surfaces before being returned the next day. Officials

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are worried that Zeus the Zebra is already planning escape

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number three. And I thought I was a problem with

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my dog getting loose around the neighborhood. And knows your

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five good news stories for today. Have a great day.