Evidence, the baby zebra found injured along I-75 April 8, arrived with a police escort at his new home in Locust Grove Friday afternoon to the chants of school children and a donated cake and balloons.

He had been recovering at the veterinary school at Auburn University..

Noah's Ark (ENLARGE)

Evidence, the wayward zebra that fell off a truck last month on I-75, is in his new home at Noah's Ark.

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Officials at Noah's Ark, a rescue and rehabilitation center in Locust Grove for animals and children, took in Evidence — the name stuck after police kept referring to him that way — immediately after he was injured and welcomed him back.

No one claimed the little hoofer after he was found grazing along the side of the busy highway with numerous wounds last month. Vets believe he was injured falling from a truck.

Lowe Engineers, an Atlanta firm that has zebras as a mascot, gave Evidence the ride home after learning the center did not have a horse trailer.

Noah's Ark had taken him to Auburn in the van they use to transport the children that live in the group home.

During his return trip, the Alabama State Patrol gave Evidence an escort to the state line, said Diane Smith, assistant to the director at Noah's Ark. Locust Grove police escorted him home once he hit the Henry County limits.

"He's eating well, he's drinking well, he's playing," Smith said. "He's even allowing people to love on him a little bit."

But he's not completely healed. He still has a catheter, and Smith said vets from Auburn will pay a visit in four to six weeks to remove it.

While Noah's Ark has been a savior to the small, homeless zebra, he's also returned some help to the group. The center depends on donations to care for the more than 1,000 animals, including many exotics, and could not afford his surgery. Yet they approved it believing that help would come.

It did. People have donated about $7,200 for Evidence's medical care, which covers his costs so far. And donors also have agreed to buy a horse trailer for the center and build a small barn where Evidence can live once he is healthy. In the meantime, he'll be living in a stall fashioned out of part of the back porch of the children's home at the center.

"For now he'll need constant monitoring, so that's fine," Smith said.

She said Evidence won't be on public display right away, but once he's healed and comfortable, people touring the center will be able to see him.

Anyone interested in donating to Evidence's continued care can call 770-957-0888 or go to www.noahs-ark.org.