Zebra runs amok in US traffic

Rush hour traffic in the US city of Atlanta came to a standstill when an escaped circus zebra galloped along a busy section of highway.

The animal was first spotted around 4.30pm on Thursday in downtown Atlanta, said Georgia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Monica Luck.

The animal made its way through downtown to the interstate highway that cuts through the centre of the city. Police cruisers blocked off all southbound lanes and were able to herd the zebra over to the right shoulder and off an entrance ramp, Luck said.

"It wasn't on the highway very long," she said. "But it was an inconvenient time for this to happen because the downtown connector southbound usually gets backed up on its own, that time of day."

Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus is in town this week. The circus also had a group of elephants corralled Thursday in a downtown Atlanta parking lot.

It's not the first time a zebra has been spotted along a metro Atlanta highway.