An elephant escaped the confines of a touring circus and roamed the streets of Butte, Montana, on Tuesday before it used to be recaptured with out incident, NBC Montana reported.
Sheriff Ed Lester of the Butte-Silver Bow Law Enforcement Department stated through electronic mail that the elephant used to be “spooked by a vehicle and escaped briefly.”
Images from Butte confirmed the animal strolling round Harrison Avenue, dwarfing automobiles.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the animal welfare staff, recognized the elephant as Viola, who has escaped her confines no less than two times before, in 2010 and 2014, spokesperson Nicole Perreira stated through electronic mail. The staff described the elephant as “elderly.”
NBC Montana reported that Viola escaped from a touring circus referred to as Jordan World Circus when she used to be spooked through the sound of a car. Viola used to be getting a tub on the time, the station stated.
Jordan World Circus didn’t in an instant reply to a request for remark.
“The elephant was walking in the street for a block or two but was then loaded into a trailer by circus staff,” Lester stated.
The elephant used to be rounded up through handlers inside about 20 mins of getting escaped early Tuesday afternoon, NBC Montana reported. No injury or accidents have been reported.
“Glad it ended neatly,” Lester said, “and so far as I do know, the display went on as scheduled.”
Todd Miyazawa contributed.