A crane was called in by police to lift five fugitive water buffalo off a major road in western Germany during an operation that lasted about nine hours.
The buffalo, including two calves, escaped from a field on Sunday night and walked onto the A3 highway near Leverkusen. The road was closed temporarily, the news agency dpa reported.
Police said they initially corralled the animals using two trucks and several patrol cars, but were not able to get them off the road.
A zoo vet was brought in to tranquilise the animals before they were lifted off. One bull had to be freed after getting stuck in a crash barrier, but was unhurt.
A Cologne fire service crane was used to remove the animals from the highway. They were then taken back to their field.
