Loose lamb corralled on New York City highway

March 14 (UPI) -- Police in New York said officers rescued a loose lamb spotted running alongside a busy stretch of highway during commuting hours.

The New York Police Department said an officer at the Belt Parkway-Gowanus Split was flagged down by a driver about 9 a.m. Wednesday and told there was a "goat" running on the Gowanus Expressway.

Police were eventually about to corner the animal, which was actually a young sheep, with help from other drivers and an off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer.

"I didn't realize how fast it was until I reached out to grab it when it was coming close to me, it just scooped right around me and just kept on running," NYPD Officer Dominick Gatto told WABC-TV. "I was just scared that a car was going to hit the lamb to be honest so I wanted to make sure that didn't happen."

The lamb was taken to New York City Animal Control. Authorities said they do not know where the lamb came from.