Reindeer escape, run across Texas highway

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WEBSTER, Texas, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Two reindeer escaped after the gate popped open on the trailer they were riding in, and bounded through traffic across a Texas highway, police said.

The reindeer were being transported Tuesday along Interstate 45 in Webster when the trailer unhitched and the gate came open, the Houston Chronicle reported Wednesday. Before the driver could pull over, the animals jumped out, ran across the freeway and feeder road, stopping in a nearby park and ride lot.

Police responded and blocked the feeder road to keep the reindeer from running back into traffic.

"We did get several phone calls," Webster Police Chief Ray Smiley said. "The first couple we didn't believe."

A woman accompanying the trailer's driver -- the owner of a petting zoo -- corralled the animals back to the trailer. No injuries to the deer were reported.