A camel, a zebra, and a pony walk onto the interstate…
What sounds like the setup of a bad joke was reality after a semi truck hauling circus animals caught fire on I-69. An Indiana state trooper spotted the cab go up in flames around the 263 mile marker, and sprang into action.
According to USA Today, the animal hauler was en route to a circus in Indiana on January 27 when equipment failure caused it to catch fire. The trucker was unharmed but the animals were trapped inside the burning trailer. The trooper, a deputy, and member of the circus were able to rescue 5 zebras, 4 camels, and a miniature horse.
“It’s not every day you get to see camels and zebras and mini-horses on an interstate,” Indiana State Police public information officer Sgt. Steven Glass told USA Today.
Grant County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Brent Ressett told reporters, “They just started grazing actually in the middle of the interstate, which which kept them occupied, which was a good thing. And they were all docile, obviously, they had bridles on so you know, wasn’t like they couldn’t be moved around. And the the median kind of served as a corral because of the guardrail.”
Luckily for everyone involved, the other 18-wheeler hauling tigers and lions had no trouble. All lanes were closed at about 2 a.m. and reopened at 6:30 a.m.
See bodycam footage of the rescue, from FOX 55 Fort Wayne:
