Water buffaloes caught roaming Sydney

Clad in a cowboy hat and boots, a water buffalo handler has been filmed lassoing one of the beasts before carefully coaxing it back into a truck after it broke free in Sydney's inner west.

Police received a report of a water buffalo chasing people in King St, Newtown, before 10am (AEDT) on this morning.

A NSW Fire and Rescue spokeswoman said firefighters from Newtown had contained the buffaloes in a makeshift pen on the corner of Carillon Ave and Missenden Rd.

The animals broke free from their handlers while filming a Korean Samsung ad, according to Mumbrella.

An eyewitness at Sydney Park in St Peters said they had escaped from the film crew in the area.

"They (buffaloes) are pretty angry, apparently," he said.

"They've just disappeared totally."

Another witness, April Felman, said she spotted people with cameras following the buffaloes through traffic on King Street.

"It was crazy," she told ABC radio.

"Everyone on the street was shocked looking at these bulls running.

"There was a jeep with film equipment ... egging them on."

The buffaloes were believed to have travelled more than 2km. It was not clear which advertising agency was responsible for arranging the shoot.