Buffalo herd roams over US suburb

Alarmed residents first reported that about 10 animals were roaming through the streets early on Tuesday.

Police shut down majors roads, tracked down the buffalo and herded them into the court.

The cattle were returned to a local farm to which they belong. It is not clear how they escaped.

More than a dozen police cars and one helicopter took part in the chase in the Pikesville area.

"There was an unusual happening going on at the tennis courts and they weren't playing doubles"
Pikesville resident

Officers used lounge chairs beside the tennis court as shields and formed a human chain to manoeuvre the buffalo - or bison as they are also called in the US.

"Somehow they figured it out. I've got to give a lot of credit to the creativity of our officers," police spokesman Shawn Vinson told the Associated Press news agency.

One resident told AP: "I got a phone call from a neighbour who said there was an unusual happening going on at the tennis courts and they weren't playing doubles."

One buffalo was seen leaping over one of the tennis nets in an effort to evade capture.

But all were eventually returned to their farm.

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