Zookeepers get very attached to our animals. We provide their daily care and for some, so much more. Tuya, our young Bactrian camel, needed much more. We provided it happily, and because of this she has grown to be about 500 pounds at almost 9 months of age (see previous post, Baby Camel: Accepted). Along with the happiness always comes the day when the animal has to make a journey to another zoo. Tuya’s father, Mongo, will be staying with us. This means that Tuya will need to be sent away to be part of a breeding herd.
I received this news about a month ago and have been preparing for her departure. When animals leave the San Diego Zoo, they must have a pre-shipment physical to make sure they are healthy and there are no issues before they head out. Tuya is very used to all types of tactile handling, so most of the veterinarian’s requests would be easy to accommodate. But just to make sure, we set up a chute in case Tuya decided to kick, a normal reaction from a camel of any age, but expected from one so young. The chute is just two corral panels about 10 feet long and 5 feet high and made of metal bars. The camel steps into this chute, and the vet has full access to the animal by reaching through the bars while keeping safe from camel kicks. Tuya had never been in a chute before, so I began training to get her used to it.
At first I just stood in the corral with her and rewarded her with a treat when she was calm. Slowly we made our way closer to the chute. She ran away kicking three times before walking into it. And this is no normal kick or two. It is the full-on happy camel dance with legs flailing in all directions. It makes me laugh every time I see it! Finally she decided it was okay to sniff the chute. I rewarded her for every few steps she took into the chute, using a “target” for her to touch to receive her reward. The target we use is a small pool buoy on a stick that we use to move animals from one point to another. With the camels I ask them to “target,” which means to touch the target with their nose. Usually this means they have to walk a few steps to reach the target; once they touch it calmly they are given food reinforcement.
Tuya did quite well for her first time. We spent a few more days taking it slow, and then I decided to put her halter on and walk her into the chute. I still used the target, which gave her something to concentrate on. If I didn’t, she usually wound up getting excited and running away.
Once comfortably in the chute, I rewarded her for calm behavior and had another keeper start touching her legs, head, belly, etc.—anywhere the vet might want to examine her to make sure she is healthy. As long as she had her camel chow pellets, she was good. I kept the sessions short so as to keep them a positive and always-rewarding experience for her.
Next time I’ll update you on her physical and how the whole procedure went. She is definitely a healthy and happy camel!
Laura Weiner is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.
Oh Laura, I know it’s all a part of growing up and leaving home, but it’s really hard to think of our precious Tuya leaving us. Especially since I saw her when she was born (a really muddy baby!) and have been watching her ever since.
But it’s good to know how carefully you are preparing her for this move, making it as stress-free as possible. Do you know which zoo she will be moving to? I’m sure she will be happy there. And could you possibly give us an update on Elvis, who moved a few years ago? Thanks to you and all your team for the wonderful work you do every day!
Wow… 9 months and 500 lbs!! Did her humps finally fill in? This has to be one of the sad parts of your job…. I’m curious too where she might be going? Is there a video of 4 feet flying in all directions? I’d love to see that. Thanks for sharing your training tips… I trained my dog to “target” to hit the contacts for the dog walk and A frame in agility… I think it’s so cool to read how the same training theories are used for training “wild animals” as for domesticated… who knows… maybe the trainers of domesicated animals saw how well it works with the zoo animals and we “borrowed” your techniques???
Please keep us updated on Tula’s training..
Thanks, Laura. I’m looking forward to your post on Tuya’s physical. Can you tell us where Tuya will be going, and when? It’s nice to know where animals we’ve become attached to end up. A number of folks from San Diego have traveled to China to see the San Diego born Giant Pandas. And I intend to visit Tina and Jewel, the elephants recently transferred from San Diego to the Los Angeles Zoo. I just saw Tuya last week, and she’s still much smaller than Mouse. When will she be fully grown? When will she be sexually mature? Is there a potential mate for her where she’s going?
Hello all!
To answer some of your questions….
Tuya is headed to the Tanganyika Wildlife Park in Kansas. If you have been reading my blogs for the past few years you will remember than Gram, our greater one- horned rhino, also moved there. Tuya is going to be alone for a bit, but they are getting male soon. She won’t be fully grown until at least 3 to 5 years of age and will be sexually mature at 3 to 4 years of age.
I will have to check to see how Elvis is doing, Shirley! Thank you all for your interest in our little camel. She has been a joy to work with!
new pics before she leaves??
Hi, I live in Austria near Vienna and I have two 4 years old bactrians Max and Moritz. I am very concerned about Max who does not put weight on and is Not at all growing compared to Moritz at the same age. Regular antiparasite program is done. The only diagnosis my vets could find was leptospirosis australia. He gets an antibiotic treatment now every day since 3 weeks but is not really improving. In Austria nobody has experience with bactrians. So I wondered if you could help me with some advise or contacts to bactrian experienced vets. I also trained them with Clickertraining in a chute for treatment and it works very well. I hope for your help! Thanks Gabriele
Moderator’s note: Your request has been forwarded to our veterinary team.