Three camels were spotted strolling the streets of Brisbane Australia on Friday morning, December 16, according to local media.
Camels Cyrus, Morgy and Benjamin were intended to be part of the Bridgeman Baptist Community Church nativity play, but escaped just before 9:00 a.m. on the morning of the event.
Local news outlet 9News explained that Cyrus was the party primarily responsible for breaking out after he managed to open the gate, while the other two followed.
"They're herd animals so they just like being around each other," The camels' owner Wayne Morris explained to 9News.
The camels' journey
A caravan of free-roaming Christmas camels have caused commuter chaos in Brisbane this morning, seen strolling into oncoming traffic after escaping their enclosure. The beasts from Bridgeman Baptist Community Church's Bethlehem walk were eventually wrangled to safety.#9News pic.twitter.com/Ljnh2RKhBz
— 9News Queensland (@9NewsQueensland) December 16, 2022
The trio of ungulates wandered across three suburbs before being caught.Morris was somewhat surprised when he heard that his camels had escaped, but not terribly so. "They're always wandering," he told 9News. "All the motorists, I give them credit, they were really nice people, they slowed down," he added.
The fugitives were re-captured when they paused on their journey for a snack. They were found eating grass on the side of the road, at which point they were returned to the nativity scene.
"Our camels got a bit lost on the way to Bethlehem! Gladly they're back safe and sound now," the church posted on Facebook once the camels were returned.
In a seemingly unrelated event, 9News also reported a week after this camel outbreak that a middle-aged woman in Queensland was trampled by a camel on the Sushine Coast. The camel was reportedly walking freely around the Gympie region of Queensland on Saturday morning when it encountered the woman. She was taken to Gympie Hospital with wrist injuries.
According to local news, the rogue camel's origins are yet unknown.