Video: Papier Mache Rhino 'Attacks' Zoo Staff

Japanese police and zoo keepers have been filmed fending off a papier mache rhinoceros as part of an emergency drill.

More than a hundred staff and Japanese police and paramedics took part in the practice as the rhino - controlled by two people - lumbered through the park.

One worker at Tokyo's Ueno Zoological Gardens was even attacked by the life-sized creature, prompting other keepers to rescue their colleague while pushing the animal away with sticks.

Although visitors were rushed away from the rhino's path, many stuck around to watch the spectacle - designed to prepare workers for a real-life rampage.

Zoo director Toshimitsu Doi said less elaborate costumes were sometimes used for the annual drills, but that the papier mache rhino was used on this occasion for its impact.

After keepers surrounded the rhino with a net, they pretended to tranquilise and capture it, at which point the two staff inside the rhino were allowed to shed the costume and return to their normal duties.

The drill may never need to be put into practice, however - Ueno Zoological Garden has only had four instances of animals escaping in the last 50 years.