The baby zebra found injured along I-75 south of Atlanta last week is healing, but his new keepers say it will be a while before he's fully recovered.

"He's doing well physically, but he's very frightened and traumatized," said Diane Smith, assistant to the director at Noah's Ark, the rescue and rehabilitation center in Locust Grove that retrieved the zebra April 8.

Smith said they believe the animal, estimated at 2 to 3 months old, was being transported with his mother when he fell from a truck or trailer. He had a severe pelvic injury, leading vets to believe he may have then been hit by another vehicle.

Who owned him and where he was going remains unknown, said Robin Hill of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. "We still have no idea where he came from," she said Thursday.

Butts County deputies found him grazing near Exit 201, then called Noah's Ark. After seeing he had serious injuries, center officials put out a call for veterinary help. They also named him Evidence, because that's what police called him.

Auburn University's vet school was first to call back, so Noah's Ark loaded Evidence into a van and hauled him to Alabama.

Smith said people have donated enough to cover the $5,000 surgery Evidence needed. Now they hope donors will continue to help cover the cost of ongoing care, including nursing formula that runs $75 per bucket. Evidence is still in Alabama, but Noah's Ark officials hope to bring him back to their center soon.

"We have someone who has offered to pick him up in their trailer and bring him back, but we'd love to get a used, two-horse trailer so we can take him to vet visits," Smith said. "We're also looking at the cost to build a small barn with a few stalls in it."

She said he'll live temporarily in a stall on the back porch of a children's care home at the center.

"He associates people with pain. Our rehabilitation experts will have to work with him to socialize him," Smith said. "He's depressed right now. He's living in a sterile environment with nothing to play with or entertain him. We want to get him home so we can take his mind off his injuries and start to put some joy back in his life."

She said Evidence may make an appearance at a May 10 fund-raiser that includes Georgia first lady Mary Perdue. Tickets are $125. For information or to contribute, go to www.noahs-ark.org or call 770-957-0888.