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The zebra caused delays on the A20 motorway. Bernd Wüstneck/DPA/PA Images
autobahn
Zebra shot dead after causing road crash on German motorway
Police said a number of attempts were made to bring the animal to safety before they fired.
A ZEBRA WAS shot dead by police in Germany yesterday morning, after disrupting traffic and causing a road crash on a motorway.
The zebra escaped from a circus in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the north of the country on Tuesday night.
“The animal was going in the wrong direction on the autobahn from Tessin to Rostock,” a police spokesperson told Deutsche Welle.
One driver jammed on to avoid the animal on the motorway, causing another driver to crash into them just after 8am on the A20 motorway, police said.
One police officer was injured and the zebra damaged one of the police patrol cars. Traffic was then delayed as police cleared the area and attempted to coax the zebra to safety.
Police in Rostock tweeted: “Warning. Escaped #Zebra hinders traffic in the Ticino/Sanitz area.”
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The zebra then left the road and joined another escapee in a nearby woodland. One of the zebras was safely caught and returned to the circus.
A spokesperson said: “Later, the [other] zebra could be seen on a field between Kowalz and Thelkow. The circus tamer responsible for the animal then also tried in vain to bring the zebra under control.”
After a number of unsuccessful attempts to catch the zebra, police shot the zebra dead.
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