A circus elephant named Viola gave the performance of her life on Tuesday: a big disappearing act.
The mammoth animal was scheduled to appear on stage at the Jordan World Circus in Butte, Montana, but before its performance, Viola escaped and wandered around town, a city official confirmed to CBS News. The circus had two shows scheduled, one at 4:00 p.m. and another at 7:00 p.m. local time.
“One of the circus elephants managed to escape from its trainer and wandered down Harrison Ave, a busy street in the city,” County Executive JP Gallagher told CBS News.
Video shared on social media showed the elephant walking in the middle of the road through traffic in the southwestern Montana city. He walked past the city's casino and entered a warehouse as people ran past him, the video showed.
Brittany McGinnis via Storyful
Viola caused some damage to a storage area at the Civic Center, but “no one was hurt,” Gallagher said, adding, “Although there was minor damage to the facility, we're thankful that everyone stayed unharmed,” he said.
Viola's trainers were finally able to subdue and restrain her.
Animal protection groups PETA and WHORES in separate statements he said that Viola had escaped from the circus before. PETA alleged that Carson & Barnes, the circus that supplied the elephants to the Jordan World Circus, has a history of forcing elephants to perform strenuous exercise and has been cited for more than 100 violations of the federal Welfare Act animal
CBS News reached out to both circuses for comment.
