WATCH | Circus elephant escapes, roams around on the streets of Montana
Viola The Elephant
An elephant stunned the commuters in Montana in the United States as she roamed on the streets of Butte on Tuesday.
The elephant escaped the confines of a travelling circus, NBC Montana reported. Sheriff Ed Lester of the Butte-Silver Bow Law Enforcement Department said the elephant was "spooked by a vehicle and escaped briefly."
Videos and images from Butte show the large animal walking around Harrison Avenue, overshadowing cars. A man was seen carrying a stick, desperately trying to corral the elephant on one of the roads. Another video shows the animal hilariously crossing the road in a designated turning lane, although in the opposite direction.
People from the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the animal welfare group, informed that the animal escaped similarly before in 2010 and 2014. Nicole Perreira, their spokesperson, called Viola, the escaped circus elephant, "elderly." She belongs to a travelling circus called Jordan World Circus.
Viola escaped when she was spooked by the sound of a vehicle while she was taking a bath.
Sheriff Lester said, "The elephant was walking in the street for a block or two but was then loaded into a trailer by circus staff." The handlers rounded up Viola after 20 minutes of her escape. "Glad it ended well, and as far as I know, the show went on as scheduled," Lester added. No injuries or damage were reported.
Bill Melvin, the venue's manager, told Daily Montanan, "The circus, of course, is very professional, and they had a professional trainer and he was real calm and the animal was calm and they were able to get her right back. It was not nearly as dramatic as you would think."
However, PETA has criticised the event, stating, "Viola's desperate break for freedom follows decades of abuse and involuntary servitude at the hands of Carson & Barnes Circus, which forces her to perform gruelling, painful tricks and has been caught on video electroshocking elephants and beating them with a sharp, steel-tipped bullhook."
(With inputs from agencies)