Runaway elephant halts NZ traffic

Gate-crasher: Burma broke out of the Auckland zoo

An adventurous elephant has brought chaos to the morning rush hour in New Zealand's largest city, Auckland.

Burma, an Asian elephant, broke out of her zoo enclosure by dropping a log onto an electric fence early on Friday.

After crossing a moat, the two-and-a-half-ton animal began to roam around an adjacent public park.

Although she posed no real threat to the public, police sealed off roads and access to a motorway while zoo-keepers guided her back to the enclosure.

In total, Burma spent 25 minutes on the loose.

The authorities at Auckland zoo said they would step up supervision of the elephants and consider beefing up the security of their enclosure.

"Over the next few days staff will be particularly vigilant to ensure that Burma does not attempt to re-enact her escapade," zoo director Glen Holland said.