A runaway herd of bison is being hunted by New York police

More than a dozen bison broke loose late Thursday from a farm in upstate New York.

Six of the 15 bison were shot dead by police in the hours after they escaped the farm just south of Albany, traversed a river, crossed a major highway, and were stampeding through a public park, according to WNYT.

Pictures from locals posted to social media show the bison stomping across local roads and racing towards the New York State Thruway, a major north-south highway connecting the state capital to New York City.

The animals charged through a fence, swam across a river, ran through people's backyards and bolted onto the highway as people took pictures and cops pursued with guns.

The dead bison were shot in Schodack Island State Park, according to WNYT. Authorities are trying to round them up to take them home, but officers have orders to shoot the nearly 1,000-pound animals if they do not cooperate, according to the Associated Press.

The bisons' jailbreak caught the attention of Twitter, and many people used the #bisonbreakout hashtag to keep tabs on the pursuit.

Further information regarding the remaining bison has not been made available.

A woman who who answered the phone at the Albany County Sheriff's Office declined to comment on the search.

Earlier this year, two llamas that broke loose in Arizona and went viral. 

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