Camel dances in back of bus on Florida interstate

SANFORD, Fla. (FOX 13) - Sir Gus Jr., now known around Florida as the dancing camel, has been spotted with his head sticking out of the back of a converted school bus this week. 

Multiple videos posted on social media show Sir Gus Jr. swaying back and forth, seeming to dance along the interstates of Florida. Mark Jenkins posted a video on Twitter, saying he made the sighting on the way to Bike Week in Daytona Beach. 

"Seemed to be enjoying himself. ONLY IN FLORIDA," Jenkins wrote in his tweet to FOX 13 News' Chris Cato.

It turns out, the 18-year-old camel is a celebrity in the Shriners community. Sir Gus Jr. is the loving mascot of the Bahia Shriners in Apopka, Florida. Bahia Shriners is the only group in the U.S. that has a traveling camel mascot.

The potentate of Bahia Shriners, Trey Rapp, said Sir Gus Jr. was headed to the Bahia Charity ride event at Seminole Harley Davidson when he was spotted dancing in the back of his bus. 

Rapp explained the Bahia Shriners got Sir Gus Jr. when he was 5 months old, about 18 years ago. His namesake, who is not his biological father, was the original Sir Gus, who was known as the kissing camel. Sir Gus Sr. died at the age of 25 in a tragic accident after a parade in Orlando in 2002.

When the Bahia Shriners got their new mascot, they let the children from Shriners Hospital in Tampa pick a name. The kids decided this new camel should carry on the Sir Gus legacy.

Today, a group called The Camel Herders takes care of Sir Gus Jr. around the clock.

LINK: To keep up with the adventures of Sir Gus, Jr., visit his Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Sir-Gus-Jr-234745989914741/.