An escaped zebra that ran amok on a Japanese golf course for hours has died after it was chased by a dozen men, including police officers.

The animal is thought to have drowned after being shot by a tranquilliser dart and plunging into a lake.

Police said the two-year-old male zebra, which belonged to a farm in the Aichi district in central Japan, escaped late on Tuesday from a horse-riding club.

By Wednesday morning it had wandered on to a nearby golf course in Toki, with TV news footage showing it zipping from hole to hole.

People were chasing the animal around the course, some holding lassos, trying to capture it, but with little luck. The animal would let them get close, then dash off when they tried to rein it in.

It was shot with a tranquilliser dart, but ran into a lake. It was rescued within minutes, but its heart had stopped, and attempts to resuscitate it failed, said Takahiro Taniguchi of Tajimi police.

A vet on the scene said the zebra appeared to have drowned, he said. "We pulled it out, but its heart had stopped," he said.