Escaped hippo returned to circus in Spain

March 21 (UPI) -- Police in Spain said a loose hippopotamus found wandering the countryside was successfully captured and returned to a traveling circus.

The Civil Guard said officers with Seprona, the agency's wildlife and conservation branch, responded to a rural area in La Garrovilla, Badajoz, after a witness reported spotting a hippo running loose in a field on the outskirts of the town.

The Seprona officers were able to capture the hippo and return it to its owners, a traveling circus that had set up in the area. No injuries or property damage were reported from the hippo's time on the loose.

Investigators said they are now looking into how the animal managed to escape from the circus.