An escaped circus elephant was seen weaving through traffic and striding across parking lots in Butte, Mont., on Tuesday, according to videos shared widely on social media.
Sheriff Ed Lester, with Butte-Silver Bow Law Enforcement, told NPR via email that a circus elephant was apparently “spooked by a vehicle” and briefly escaped before being recaptured by handlers.
“The elephant was walking in the street for a block or two but was then loaded into a trailer by circus staff,” he said. “Glad it ended well and as far as I know the show went on as scheduled!”
Lester said neither the elephant nor any bystanders were harmed.
A local official told CBS News that the elephant caused minor damage to a storage area at the Butte Civic Center.
A normal day in Montana took a turn when locals reported an unusual sighting: an elephant on the loose in Butte.
The incident was captured on video by stunned witnesses as the animal wove through traffic and stomped past a casino on Tuesday. A man, who appeared to be her… pic.twitter.com/CwvaelTmCX
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) April 17, 2024
Though Lester couldn’t confirm the elephant’s name, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said in a statement that it was an elderly elephant named Viola who was part of the Jordan World Circus.
According to its website, the Jordan World Circus was scheduled to perform in Butte on Tuesday.
Jordan World Circus head elephant handler Armando Loyal told Montana Public Radio that the elephant was getting washed in a parking lot of the Butte Civic Center when a truck backfired and startled her.
Loyal said handlers were able to catch the elephant and load her back into a circus truck within 10 minutes of her escape.
NPR emailed Loyal, who was apparently with the circus on a stop in Helena on Wednesday, for comment, but he did not immediately reply.
PETA said Viola had escaped at least twice before — once in 2010 and again in 2014.
The group said it filed a complaint over Tuesday’s “potentially fatal” incident with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, urging the agency to investigate the Carson & Barnes Circus that “supplied” the elephant to Jordan World Circus and asking that Viola be examined for any injuries she may have sustained during the escape.
Butte resident Mataya Smith told NBC Montana that passersby handled the presence of the rogue elephant well.
“We have plenty of experience with bison, not to get too close and not to interact too much and to stay within a safe distance. So I think it was probably safer for her to get loose here because we all kept our distance,” Smith said. “Everybody slowed down, backed up when she was coming towards them.”
She added that the elephant’s handler tried to gently guide the animal back to the circus.
“They waited very patiently with her and just kind of petted her and gave her comfort and calmed her until the truck came by,” Smith said.