The 5-tonne male named Sabu evaded his handlers at a circus as he was being loaded onto a lorry.
He walked into the city where bathed in a lake before heading up the main Bahnhofstrasse towards the main railway station.
Police closed roads and passers-by fled in terror as the specialist vets tracked the 10ft high elephant on Sunday afternoon.
He was finally lured into the back of a lorry and returned to his owners at the travelling Circus Knie.
Full story: Elephant escapes in Zurich – Telegraph