Camels like people a bit too much for my taste. Just for safety I shift the camels off (or on) exhibit to clean. I can't scrape up dung off the ground and watch out for 10' tall head-swallowing camels at the same time. Twin Peeks tried to bite my arm once. That is not going to happen again if I can help it.
We shift them as well and two people are required if anyone is going in to the cage with them for any reason, must have a spotter. We actually had a camel related death many years ago at the old enclosure before the shifting started. A floater went in with them to clean, someone grabbed his head and tossed him like a rag doll. From my understanding his neck was broken, he was found hours later and no one knew which camel was guilty.
I think our current bactrians would be mostly safe to work around, but I don't even really trust our male arabian through the fence :P Camellia has her good days and bad days, she was hand raised and... ya.... gotta love those hand raised animals!
Well, I guess we are a lot less cautious than you when it comes to camels. We used to have Arabians, but for the last 15 years or so they've been replaced by gelded male bactrians. Twin Peeks is a bactrian camel. We do go in with the camels alone without supervision, myself included, but I will shift them away whenever it is possible. Some places where they have been kept it was not possible. In those instances I keep them occupied with a meal while I clean. We've had accidents but no one has ever been killed on the job here. Overall, I think we're a pretty cautious bunch, especially in the last ten years.
Our male arabian used to try to 'get' you under the field gate door :( We're careful with some stuff while other things just don't make sense. There is an ongoing debate about going in with some animals, like mule deer in rut etc. Unfortunately with the set up we have for the mule deer, you pretty much have to go in while Pappa 'Stones' is in full on rage mode.
They actually do amazing in the snow, the bactrians especially get a really great thick coat. We do tend to leave them with barn access over the winter though, no point in locking them on the field when there is no public around anyways.
Comments 9
Reply
Reply
Reply
I think our current bactrians would be mostly safe to work around, but I don't even really trust our male arabian through the fence :P Camellia has her good days and bad days, she was hand raised and... ya.... gotta love those hand raised animals!
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
They actually do amazing in the snow, the bactrians especially get a really great thick coat. We do tend to leave them with barn access over the winter though, no point in locking them on the field when there is no public around anyways.
Reply
Leave a comment