Laura enjoys time with her newest charge.
Being a zookeeper is always an interesting job. But sometimes an opportunity comes along that you never expected. In March of this year, a female Bactrian camel was born. Sadly, despite heroic efforts on the part of our veterinary and animal care staff, her mother (Heidi) died shortly after birth from complications resulting from the birth, and it was necessary to hand raise the newborn camel. Just as they say it takes a village to raise a child…it takes a great team of keepers and veterinary staff to raise a camel calf. I was thrilled to be an integral part of that team. Being the five-day keeper on the rhino string (a string is a group of animals a keeper takes care of), the Bactrian camels were under my care.
The first week, our little female calf was quite a handful. She weighed in at 77 pounds (35 kilograms) and was extremely fuzzy. I think the parts that we enjoyed the most were her humps. I had never seen a camel calf that young, so I did not know what to expect. Her humps were two little bags of skin, each flopped over to the opposite side. Completely empty. Now, of course, we all know camels’ humps are filled with fat, not water as most people assume. Camels need time to fill those humps and make them stand up straight. We had a lot of work on our hands to fatten her up!
Getting any animal to take milk from a bottle is always a challenge. Our nursery staff tirelessly worked with her to get her to drink her milk. She was quite weak in the beginning and would not come close to finishing her bottles. Each feeding (five per day) took at least an hour, and she spent half of the time laying down. We were all concerned, and the vet staff had to do IV fluid treatments to make sure she was properly hydrated and getting enough nutrients. Thankfully, as time went on she started drinking more, and the fluids were slowly phased out. We all breathed a sigh of relief, camel and keepers.
During this time I was also preparing her to be a camel at the San Diego Zoo. This means that she walks on a halter and is accustomed to meeting guests as an animal ambassador. I began placing a very tiny halter on her nose so she would become used to the feeling. When you start them out this young, the halter is like second nature, and they don’t mind it at all. She started with a small pink one and has since grown and graduated to a larger green one. She did quite well with her halter, and I started the process of teaching her how to walk out of the exhibit.
And of course, most importantly, I gave her a name. I wanted to find a name that would emphasize how special she is to us all. Her name is Tuya, which means “ray of sunshine” in Mongolian. And she is exactly that.
Laura Weiner is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo. Read her previous post, How Do You Weigh a Rhino?
Laura, congratulations on your new charge. How sad that this little one had such a sad start to life, but happily she has you and all the dedicated staff to help her through these tough times. I think your choice of her name is just perfect. All the animals at SDZ couldn’t be in better hands especially the little ones who have been given that little bit extra special care to have a chance at life. Thank you for your dedication
Tuya looks adorable, Laura. Poor little thing, losing her mother. But it looks like you’ve done a good job rearing this little one.
I saw Tuya last Thursday in an exhibit with an adult female named Mouse and our tour guide (Discovery Tour) said Mouse was Tuya’s mom. Has Mouse become her surrogate mom or is there some sort of confusion here? The guide also said Tuya’s dad was being kept away from her temporarily until he can learn how to behave around a calf.
Either way, she looked quite healthy when I saw her and quite content. Thank you for providing the background on this little one.
Brenda (#3),
Tuya’s mom was Heidi. You can read more about Mongo, Mouse, and Heidi here: http://www.sandiegozoo.org/kids/animal_camel_mongo.html
Perhaps the SDZ will update this kids page with photos of little Tuya.
Moderator’s note: I’ll look into updating Mongo’s profile page. Thanks for the reminder, Lizzie
I highly recommend the “Inside Look Tour”!!
I got to see Tuya that last weekend in April of this year. She was still being conditioned to meet people. Our group had to stay very quite but it was an honor to be around her, her aunt and of course Mongo. My new favorite animal is the Bactrain camel because of the wonderful experience I had with them all! I will never forget this experience!! Thank you for all your hard work and your caring touch with these beautiful animals!!
So then Mongo is Tuya’s dad, but Mouse isn’t her mom, even though the tour guide said Mouse is her mom? I guess that teaches me to believe everything I hear! hahahaha. Just kidding. Our tour guide was wonderful
Brenda:
Mouse has in no way become Tuya’s surrogate mom, but she does spend time with her and call to her when we take her on a walk. She has accepted her as part of the camel herd but does not actively watch out for her.
We are hoping to introduce Mongo to Tuya when she gets a bit older and at some point have all three together in a herd.
~Laura
When I saw her last month–actually about three weeks ago–she looked really in great shape. Is she still on the bottle or is she eating on her own. If she is still on the bottle, how long will she be bottle fed. She had nice humps so she must be as fat as she should be. I took lots of pictures of her.
Hi Cynthia,
She is still being bottle fed and will be completely weaned in August. She has slowly been drinking less from her bottle and eating more solid food. She gains about 2 lbs. (1 kg.) a day, which is great! She is growing well and loving her pellets, just like a real camel.
Thanks for asking!
thanks so much Laura for sharing Tuya’s story w/ us. I was sad to read about her mom’s passing from the selfless act of giving birth. I could only imagine the sadness and the challenge staff had to face. True to the spirit, diligence and commitment of the SD Zoo staff, we are blessed to be able to see and enjoy such a cute and treasured baby animal. Tuya is a wonderful miracle.
My daughter and I saw Tuya when we were at SDZ last time and thought she is very cute. We were also wondering where her mother was. So sad to hear that her mom passed away…
Thank you for taking good care of Tuya. She is beautiful.
I am curious as to what you are bottle feeding Tuya with. A vet in our area raised a young bactrian on my goat’s milk. I have milk goats and know it is virtually a universal food for youngsters. Just curious.
Hi Amy,
You are correct in wondering if it is goat’s milk. She is fed that mixed with some Esbilac formula. And she is currently being fed almost 9 liters (2.3 gallons) of milk a day! It’s amazing how much she drinks, but then again, she gains 2 lbs. every day.
Thanks!
Laura
Thank you for explaining that, Laura. It would explain why Mouse didn’t seem to have any interest in Tuya and was off doing her own thing. Hopefully, one day, the 3 of them will become a herd. Keep up with the good work!
Laura, Tuya is a little beauty. A couple of Sunrise Strolls ago we got to meet Tuya, she was shy when you brought her out to meet us but was vocal once she was in her safe place. She kept vocalizing the entire time we were there and everyone was happier for it. She is the 1st baby camel I have met and she is so cute. You and SDZ are doing a great job. I am very sorry that she lost her Mom.
Thank you so much, Laura. I had heard that Heidi had died giving birth, but I didn’t know her baby had lived. I am so glad Tuya is doing so well and under your great care. I can’t wait to see her.
I cannot wait to see Tuya. So sorry to hear of her mother’s death. But you are doing a great job as surrogate parents. Thank you for all that you do.
will Tuya ever be reintergraded with Mongo, Amu, and the other camels?
Also, is Mongo Tuya’s father? If not, who is?
Moderator’s note: Mongo is her father, and keepers will work to make her a part of the herd.
How do you keep a baby camel occupied? What types of enrichment work well for Tuya?
#19 Sarah
For any camel, food enrichment is the best. We scatter celery on exhibit, have installed hay feeders that require them to pull and manipulate the hay to remove it, big scatter tubes with pellets, and we halter train and walk all of our camels. They are also brushed on a semi-regular basis, which they seem to enjoy.
Basically, behaviors and food are the favorites.