Man takes pity on camels when tasty grass is out of reach

The Peterborough Zoo is home to a variety of animals, including two Bactrian camels, a male and a female. They are amazing and majestic creatures, more inquisitive and intelligent than we give them credit for. They are housed in a large enclosure and they are well cared for. In fact, the Peterborough Zoo is one of only two facilities in Ontario that met the standards for care of the Zoo Check, an organization that rates zoos on a wide number of criteria.

These camels actually have a steady supply of fresh hay and they are never lacking for nutrition, but on this warm spring day, they have their hearts set on some lush, green grass that grows just out of their reach. Winter in Peterborough has just run its course and the snow has not been gone long. The camels have not had access to grass for a long time and they have grazed on all the grass shoots within reach.

As the camels stretch their necks and try to get at grass growing along the fence, a zoo patron watches and sees what they are hankering for. He knows it is against the rules to feed the animals, but surely the main reason for this is to protect them from being given popcorn and sandwiches, or other human food. If the grass that they have been able to reach is on the menu, then the grass that is out of reach can be on the menu too.

The man with the camera can't resist helping them out and he plucks a few clumps of grass and carefully squeezes it through the bars. Although he has no idea if the camels can distinguish fingers from the greens, it isn't hard to hold the grass in such a way that his fingers are protected. To his pleasant surprise, the camels were extremely gentle and they used their lips to carefully take the snacks without even a hint of a bite. Camels have large mouths, like horses, and it would be very easy for their powerful jaws and teeth to cause an injury of they wanted to.