Spanish town entertained by escaped hippopotamus

MADRID – Officials say a hippopotamus that escaped from a visiting circus caused some traffic chaos and not a little diversion when he strolled easily along a street in the southwestern town of Palos de la Frontera.

A town spokesman said the animal escaped late Wednesday while being transferred from one pen to another, and then wandered out onto a town road.

Videos posted on Twitter show the hippopotamus in the middle of the street, blocking traffic as people tried to attract its attention.

The spokesman said Thursday that town residents enjoyed the incident as they saw the animal posed no danger.

He said the incident lasted some 15 minutes before circus workers coaxed it back to a pen.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with town hall regulations.