Runaway elephant escapes traveling circus, blocks traffic in Montana

Circus? Empty. Elephant? Here.

Imagine sitting in traffic on your way to or back from work. Sure, being stuck behind a million cars is boring, but at least you know it’ll clear up soon, and you’ll be on your way. Unfortunately for a road full of commuters in Butte, Montana, that reassurance was lost when a runaway elephant escaped from a nearby traveling circus and ran wild in the street.

This cartoonish incident occurred on Tuesday, April 16. According to the BBC and local news reports, Butte Civic Center manager Bill Melvin claimed the elephant was loose for roughly 10 minutes before returning to its trailer.

Watch one witness’s amused account of the fiasco in the wild video below.

Note: The featured image is a stock photo used to illustrate the story.