Dead zebra washes ashore San Simeon beach

A dead zebra that washed onto a beach in San Simeon on Saturday died of natural causes according to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s office.

At around 12:25 p.m. Saturday, sheriff’s deputies responded to the report of the dead zebra on the beach. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife was also called to the scene.

According to the sheriff’s office, Fish and Wildlife determined that the zebra died of natural causes and floated down the nearby Pico Creek and into the ocean.

A photo of the dead zebra was posted on the Facebook group, Cambria Open Forum .

Zebra’s are not uncommon in the area, a herd of zebras can be seen from Highway 1 in the pastures at Hearst Castle.

A representative from the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office said that in the United States zebras are considered domesticated animals and are viewed as property, not unlike cattle.

Joe Sassaman captured a photo of the animal carcass. He posted about it online with the “Guess I’m surfing somewhere else…”

Warning: The photo is graphic.