Camel Spotted Waiting in Drive-Thru for Some In-N-Out Fries

In-N-Out customers were startled to see an unusual patron waiting in between the cars at a drive-thru last week.

Keith Johnson was on vacation in Las Vegas, Nevada, when he spotted a man escorting a camel through the drive-thru line at an In-N-Out restaurant on October 4.

"When I pulled up to the parking lot, the camel was walking into the line," Johnson told Newsweek. "There was a car in front of it and there was a car behind it. I was like, 'What? There's a camel there?'"

Johnson took a video of Fergie the camel walking patiently in between vehicles. At the drive-thru window, delighted In-N-Out workers snapped photos of the larger-than-average customer.

Fergie's handler, Brandon Nobles, placed an order for his camel.

"Just french fries," he said in the video. "They're Fergie's favorite."

Nobles picked up the package and gently nudged his animal forward, saying, "Come on, mama. Got your french fries."

Other patrons quickly swarmed around the pair to take photos and ask questions about Fergie, which the handler answered while feeding her fries. Nobles explained that she was a 12-year-old rescue from Colorado, now living at Jeffry's Farm, his animal sanctuary in Las Vegas. Camels can live to about 65 years old, he said.

"Jeffery's Farm is our small animal rescue that we privately fund," Nobles told Newsweek. "Our mission is to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome farm and handicapped animals in need. This is a very underserved section of the rescue world here in Las Vegas."

Fergie was rescued from a camel dairy farm, where camels are bred and milked. When she arrived at Jeffry's Farm, the staff noticed she was "constantly stressed," pacing and showing other nervous behaviors. To help improve her comfort, they started taking her for daily walks around the block.

"Now, walking a camel around the neighborhood in Las Vegas is likely to be noticed...and the neighbors would start coming out to say hi to Fergie," said Nobles. "This was another obstacle for her. But within a week or two, we noticed she was actually excited to see the neighbors and would happily walk right up and let them give her some love."

Now the camel has visited a range of restaurants in her neighborhood, including Dutch Brothers Coffee, Chipotle, McDonald's, Wendy's, and, of course, In-N-Out.

Fergie became quite a celebrity at the restaurant, according to Johnson.

"People would stop their cars. They got out of the cars and started taking photos of the camel," he said.

Nobles said that Fergie's fry intake is limited for health reasons, but they are a beloved treat.

"As for her favorite fries...we think her motto is, gotta try them all to make an educated decision," he said.

Fergie isn't the first animal to take center stage in a drive-thru line—a variety of other creatures have been recorded waiting outside fast-food joints.

In September, a London equestrian took his horse through a McDonald's drive-thru for an order of 100 chicken nuggets. The obedient steed was filmed trotting behind a line of cars.

At another McDonald's, a video from June showed three raccoons forming a line while staff handed them chicken nuggets out of the drive-thru window. After receiving their treats, the critters scampered off one by one.

Meanwhile, in August 2021, customers were amazed to see a cow in the back of a car waiting outside a Wisconsin McDonald's drive-thru.

Updated 10/10/2022, 12:52 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with comments from Brandon Nobles and additional information.