A young zebra walked, trotted and galloped through the busy streets of South Korea’s capital for hours before emergency workers tranquillised it and took it back to a zoo.

The animal — a male called Sero born at the zoo in 2021 — was in a stable condition and being examined by veterinarians as of Thursday evening, said Choi Ye-ra, an official at the Children’s Grand Park in Seoul.

She said the zoo was investigating how the zebra managed to escape.

She did not immediately confirm media reports that the animal damaged wooden fencing surrounding its pen before getting out at about 2.50pm.

Social media is flowing with smartphone videos of the zebra trotting alongside cars waiting for the green light at a junction, and galloping through a street surrounded by commercial buildings as pedestrians stopped and gasped.

Police and emergency workers managed to corner the zebra after it entered a narrow alleyway between houses and shot it with tranquillisers, ending its three hours of freedom.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or property damage caused by the zebra running loose.