Bison runs across highway during rush hour west of Edmonton

 

June 23 (UPI) -- A traveler on an Alberta highway captured video when she came across an unusual traffic hazard: a bison running loose in the roadway.

Keira Boutilier said she was on her way to visit friends in Stony Plain on Wednesday when she spotted a large animal on Highway 16, near Highway 779.

"The people coming west, they're all like slowed down and I'm, like, just so confused," Boutilier told CTV News. "And then I see this giant, like, buffalo bison thing. I thought it was a moose at first and then it started running into my lane."

Boutilier captured video of the bison running out of the median and crossing three lanes of traffic to reach a field at the side of the highway.

"I was so confused. I didn't even realize there was bison close to here. It was so random. I've been driving at night and I've seen moose, but to see a bison, I'm like, 'Where did that come from?'" Boutilier said.

The origins and ultimate fate of the bison were unclear.

An elusive bison was recently captured after eight months on the loose in Illinois. Lake County Forest Preserves officials said the female bison, variously nicknamed Tyson the Bison and Billy the Bison, was captured in late May at Lakewood Forest Preserve in Wauconda by personnel from Loose Cattle Caught.