Camel escapes nativity scene and leads police on day-long chase

A wandering camel that broke free from a nativity display led golf buggy-riding police on a chase through a city in the US state of Kansas.

Officers were surprised to discover the fleet-hoofed camel could notch up speeds of 40mph after escaping from a “drive-thru wonderland” on Sunday.

It was a scene even the police department described as something out of “another cop movie.”

The race to catch the camel began on a golf course, a little more than a mile away from where it was meant to be – at the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame in Bonner Springs.

Officers “commandeered” a golf cart, the force said, but couldn’t keep up. Video posted on social media shows the camel trotting through a through traffic by Kansas Ave, near a Walmart.

The walkabout wouldn’t last much longer, however, with one officer getting out the car on North Nettleton Avenue – nearly four miles from the golf course – to lasso the camel.

Bonner Springs Police Department released a tongue-in-cheek statement.

It read: “Officers and Animal Control spent Sunday chasing a loose camel throughout the city.

“It began on golf carts at Sunflower Hills golf Course where officers commandeered a golf cart police movie style. However, we learned camels can run 40mph and it got away.

“Then it went for a stroll about K7 and into some neighbourhoods.

“As what can only be described as a scene from another cop movie, ACO Anthony bailed out of her vehicle and went in foot pursuit on Nettleton where it was safely 'taken into custody' by lasso! Why is lassoing not taught in schools!”