THIS is the bizarre moment a zebra was seen taking a stroll down a busy motorway in Southern France leaving passengers stunned.
The adult African equine was spotted at the A63 cross-border toll in Biriatou as motorists were stuck in traffic at the French-Spanish border on August 26 around 11am.
The wild animal was finally stopped by customs officers after a 30 minutes mad race.
"We were waiting at the toll on the Spanish side, and we saw the animal tumbling down the road", Julien Cazaux, a journalist, told Sud Ouest newspaper.
"[The zebra] passed us three times while trotting. No one could catch him. Customs officers teamed up to capture him. They were panicked and running in all directions."
Cazaux, who was on a bus he had boarded in the Basque city of Bilbao, said the sight of the zebra made passengers forget about the endless traffic jams for a few minutes.
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"Everyone was at the window. The children were very excited," he added.
According to Sud Ouest, the animal had taken advantage of the fact its owner's vehicle was stuck in traffic to extricate itself from its trailer.
Panicked customs officials at the busy border crossing were forced to bait then restrain the zebra, with the help of the owner.
The owner was returning from Spain, where he had lent the zebra to a zoo.
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There are three species of the distinctive black-and-white striped coated animal: the Grévy's zebra, plains zebra, and the mountain zebra.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the Grévy's zebra is listed as endangered, while the mountain zebra and plains zebra are vulnerable and near-threatened, respectively.
There are less than 2,000 Grévy's zebras worldwide.
A typical zebra stands about 120–140 cm at the shoulder and can weigh anywhere between 200 and 450kg.
The breed are built for speed and long-distance migrations.
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