Zebra crossing: Circus animals cause chaos on German autobahn

Two zebras escaped from circus in northern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

A zebra runs across a road on October 2, 2019 in the village of Thelkow, north-eastern Germany, after the animal had broken out of a circus with a fellow animal nearby, and had caused an accident on tShow more

A runaway zebra was shot dead in Germany after it escaped from a circus and ended up on the autobahn, where it caused a traffic accident.

Police in Rostock in the north of Germany said the animal disrupted traffic, damaged cars and caused an accident on the A20 motorway on Wednesday before being shot dead by officers.

Rostock Police said on Twitter that a patrol car was damaged by the zebra, but added that no one was injured in the traffic collision.

The crash happened when one car braked to avoid the animal, causing another car to crash into the vehicle.

"The animal was going in the wrong direction on the autobahn from Tessin to Rostock," a police spokesman told Deutsche Welle.

The road was closed after the incident.

Officials and a circus tamer tried and failed to capture the zebra, which was killed near the municipality of Thelkow.

The runaway animal was one of two zebra escapees from a circus in the northern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on Tuesday night.

The second zebra was captured and returned to the circus, police said.