You'll Want to See This Video of an Escaped Circus Camel Startling Californians

(Photo: Diana Madison/Hollyscoop.com via KABC)

It wasn't a typical jam up that slowed traffic Southern California's Glendale - it was a runaway circus camel.

Reports indicate that a camel escaped from Ramos Brothers Circus Friday, and soon began galloping down Glendale Boulevard with its handlers in hot pursuit.

KABC-TV continues:

"Literally there was 10 people running after this camel, it was craziness on the street, I heard kids yelling and screaming," said Diana Madison, who witnessed the incident.

Eyewitness Hamed Hamad says the camel headed straight for oncoming traffic.

"Workers were rushing after the camel, and then one of the worker was trying to go and stop traffic," said Hamad.

They were finally able to stop the camel about a block away -- with a carrot. That's their secret weapon. They were able to use it to encourage her to come back home.

But on the journey back to the circus, Abdullah [the camel] headed through a gas station.

"People were surprised," said Douglas Ramos, co-owner of Ramos Bros. Circus. "It's not every day you see a camel running through the gas station."  ​[Emphasis added]

(Photo via KABC)

The circus says that Abdullah was about to be taken into the circus ring for an exercise, but got scared when somebody dropped a wrench.

The camel's trainers added she has never run away before, but Douglas Ramos jokingly speculated that the lure of "Black Friday" had drawn her out.

“You know, we do this every day. This time I guess she just wanted to go shopping or something, I don’t know. Black Friday deals,” he said, his face fully painted for a show.

CBS has more on the rare camel sighting:

​The Associated Press contributed to this report.