The image is something out of a fever dream: Zebras and camels grazed in an Indiana highway median early Saturday as a semi-truck burned nearby.

Indiana first responders arrived early Saturday morning at an animal control situation on steroids: camels and zebras were caught in a burning semi-truck on the interstate.

After officers freed the animals, a bizarre scene emerged. The menagerie, which also included a miniature pony, munched amid the roadway median while firefighters fought the blaze.

Flames and emergency lighting mixed to create a supernaturally-lit spectacle. “It’s not every day you get to see camels and zebras and mini-horses on an interstate,” said Indiana State Police public information officer Sgt. Steven Glass, who did not go out to the scene just east of Marion, Ind.

Photo find: A woman’s 1959 bridal photos were long lost. Now the 85-year-old has those memories back.

How did camels and zebras wind up on an Indiana highway?

About 2 a.m. on Interstate 69 near the 263 mile-marker, Indiana state trooper Edward Titus saw the cab of a 2012 Volvo semi-truck and trailer engulfed in flames, according to state police.

The driver, Armando C. Alvarez, 57, of Sarasota, Fla., who was uninjured, told Titus the trailer was loaded with animals from the Shrine Circus. The animals were reportedly on the way to the Mizpah Shrine Circus in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Trooper Titus and Grant County (Ind.) Deputy Joshua Kennedy, along with a member of the Shrine Circus, rescued five zebras, four camels, and a miniature horse, police said.  

With the animals on the burning semi-truck “they needed to do some type of evacuation,” Grant County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Brent Ressett told USA TODAY. No animals perished in the fire, police said.

Trooper Titus and Deputy Kennedy were treated at a local hospital for smoke inhalation and later released without additional injury, police said. Mr. Alvarez and all animals were uninjured.  

With the highway shut down, officers moved the animals to the center of the roadway, he said.

“They just started grazing actually in the middle of the interstate, which which kept them occupied, which was a good thing,” Ressett said. “And they were all docile, obviously, they had bridles on so you know, wasn’t like they couldn’t be moved around. And the the median kind of served as a corral because of the guardrail.”

The incident could have been more dangerous. A second semi-truck traveling along with the first had tigers and lions on board, Ressett said. “That might have been a little bit more interesting,” he said.

All lanes were opened at about 6:30 a.m. Police issued no citations and the preliminary crash investigation revealed an equipment failure caused the semi-truck fire, Indiana State Police public information officer Sgt. Steven Glasssaid.

Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider.

What’s everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day