Zebras roam free in Brussels, and other animals at large

Three zebras have gone on the loose in the Belgian capital Brussels, capping a generous helping of "animals at large" stories.

The group trotted through the streets after escaping from a local ranch, but were soon captured following an unlikely police chase.

Meanwhile a raccoon climbed a crane in Toronto and a lorry full of honeybees overturned in Washington state.

And all this as the internet recovers from the great llama escape of 2015.

Bernard Luyckx, a friend of the zebras' owner, said the animals were apparently upset by the sale of some of their stable-mates.

"Some of the horses got sold and the other zebras got mad and trampled the gates and fled into the streets. Luckily there were no injuries, nobody got hurt, the zebras too."

He said locals got "a free safari" on Friday.

And the dazzle of zebras, to everyone's delight, did at one point appear to cross a zebra crossing.

The raccoon, who was on his own so does not get a collective noun, was photographed by a crane operator more than 200 metres up a skyscraper.

Rob MacFarlane told the Toronto Star the raccoon safely made it back to the ground again.

"It's not unusual," he said. "Raccoons seem to like cranes."