Circus elephant runs loose and hits the streets after escaping from handlers

The last thing you expect to see when on the morning commute to work is an elephant stumbling across the road.

However, for folks in Butte, Montana, that is exactly what happened on Tuesday (April 16).

In footage picked up by multiple media outlets, the large mammal could be seen plodding across traffic in the middle of a busy road. You can see the bizarre sight for yourself below:

The elephant, who's reportedly a 58-year-old Asian elephant named Viola, then paraded through parking lots of a gas station and a casino.

Brittany McGinnis, a local who filmed the viral clip, could be heard saying: "A f****** elephant is walking down the road. Only in Butte. A circus elephant got loose."

Photos were also taken by several bystanders, with the elephant said to have defecated on someone's front lawn.

So, how exactly did the elephant end up having a little adventure?

Yep, that's an elephant (Brittany McGinnis via Storyful)

Well, the mammal was in a parking lot of the city's venue getting washed by her trainers ahead of a performance that day when she made the great escape, Civic Center Manager Bill Melvin told KXLY.

Speaking further surrounding the situation, Mr Melvin told the 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."

The escape did only last ten minutes, with ABC Fox Montana and KXLY reporting the elephant was secured and escorted safely back to its handlers following the incident.

Obviously, with a mammal that large walking the streets, a lot of damage could have been done.

Bu thankfully, there was no property damage nor was any individual injured as a result of the elephant escaping.

The elephant escaped for ten minutes (Brittany McGinnis via Storyful)

Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) condemned the incident with a statement.

"Elephants in circuses are violently trained, forced to perform tricks that are harmful to their health, and chained for hours on end," they said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) also released a statement, claiming the incident was a 'failure of the circus to protect Viola and the public'.

Elephants such as Viola are provided to Jordan World Circus, where the mammal was performing that day by Carson & Barnes Circus.

UNILAD has reached out to Carson & Barnes Circus and Jordan World Circus for comment.