Elephant Roams Streets of Butte, Montana After Escaping from Circus: ‘Man, They Move Fast’

The elephant reportedly got loose after being scared by a truck backfiring

Butte, Montana had a surprise visitor this week.

On April 16, videos on social media showed an elephant roaming the streets after reportedly escaping from the Jordan World Circus.

NBC Montana reported that the elephant got loose outside the Civic Center after being scared by a truck backfiring while getting a bath nearby. The circus didn't immediately respond after being contacted by PEOPLE.

"One of the circus elephants managed to escape from its trainer and wandered onto Harrison Ave, a bustling street in town," Butte Chief Executive J.P. Gallagher told CBS News.

Gallagher added that the animal caused some damage to a Civic Center storage area but "no one was injured."

"Although there was minor damage to the facility, we are grateful that everyone remained unharmed," Gallagher told the outlet.

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Onlooker Mataya Smith explained how she'd been driving south on Harrison Avenue with her husband when she spotted the surprising sight.

“I thought he just meant it was in the parking lot. And then I looked up and [was like] ‘No, there is an elephant in the road!’ ” Smith said, per NBC Montana.

“My coworker pointed out, ‘There’s an elephant!’ Started jumping up and down, pointing out the window,” Josh Hannifin, who is the Civic Center Town Pump co-manager, added to the outlet.

“We ran out the door and finally caught a video of the elephant coming through the lot here. Pretty exciting. It’s not every day you see an elephant walking down Harrison Avenue in Butte, Montana,” Hannifin continued.

“Went for a nice slow walk down Harrison. But man, they move fast when they just walk,” Hannifin added.

“Kind of making her way over to the casino trying to play some slots. Having a fun time, making the best of her Butte experience,” Smith joked.

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The outlet stated handlers were able to get the elephant safely back under control within 20 minutes without needing law enforcement intervention.

According to onlooker Smith, handlers couldn't have handled the situation better. “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. Everybody slowed down, backed up when she was coming towards them,” Smith told NBC Montana.

“They did everything that they could to just kind of guide her. They didn’t push her, they didn’t force her, they just nicely asked her to move with them and said ‘Hey, please don’t break this fence.’ 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 added.

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“He kind of was using his trunk to say, ‘Come on come on, you’re being crazy, you’re scaring the townsfolk.’ She got in there and they started trumpeting at each other. It was very adorable,” Smith continued of the animal being reunited with their mate.

“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,” Civic Center General Manager Bill Melvin said, per the Daily Montanan.

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