Two runaway circus elephants in
Germany surprised passersby and police by
showing up at a bus stop during a brief bid for freedom, officials
in Hanover said on Tuesday.
Dunia, a 40-year-old Indian elephant, and her counterpart Daela,
a 25-year-old African elephant, were apprehended by police near the
western city of Hanover over the weekend nonchalantly munching on
tree leaves and looking for all the world as if they were waiting
for the bus.
The pair had escaped from their enclosure at a nearby traveling
circus and walked some 50 meters (165 feet) to the stop, police
said.
"It was simply an unlucky situation for the circus," Hanover
police spokesman Heiko Steiner said. "The two elephants were quite
cooperative and peaceful. Everyone was amused."
If the two were trying to make an escape, they were not going
far, Steiner said. The police station is only a stone's throw from
the bus stop, which is out of use during the summer school
holiday.