A gang of five zebras, four camels and a mini horse made headlines after their ride caught fire this weekend.
A trooper's Saturday patrol turned into a circus rescue mission when he saw a semi-truck engulfed in flames that was carrying wild performers.
Upon approaching the truck, he realized that the driver, 57-year-old Armando C. Alvarez from Sarasota, Florida, had safely exited the vehicle, but the furry friends needed to be rescued. The trooper, a sheriff's deputy and the Shrine Circus employee quickly ran into action to lead them off the smoked-filled trailer.
After the rescue mission, the officers took to social media to ensure the public that all the animals were safe.
“Thanks to the swift response of multiple agencies, all animals were successfully rescued. Gratitude to our first responders for their heroic efforts,” the Grant County Sheriff's Office said on a Facebook post, with images of the camels and zebras just roaming around the highway with no care in the world.
Since the furry crew appeared nonchalant, happily munching on grass while awaiting a backup truck, the officers opted for some highway-side selfies with the laid-back bunch.
"Grateful for our tight-knit community rallying together during challenging times. Let's continue spreading the positivity!" the sheriff's office said in a post sharing the pics.
According to the Indiana State Police, the state trooper and the Grant County sheriff’s deputy were later treated at a local hospital for smoke inhalation but were released without further injury.
The truck was transporting the animals from Florida to Fort Wayne for the Mizpah Shrine Circus, the Associated Press reported. A preliminary crash investigation attributed the fire to equipment failure.
