Animal takes me into California (5)
I believe the answer is:
camel
'animal' is the definition.
(I know that Camel is a animal)
'me into california' is the wordplay.
'into' is an insertion indicator.
'california' becomes 'cal' (short for California).
'me' inserted inside 'cal' is 'CAMEL'.
'takes' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for camel that I've seen before include "One travelling in caravan" , "Pale brown - animal" , "Yellowish" , "Beastly type" , "Old WWI plane" .)