Cuddle a camel?

We recently welcomed three young camels to the farm.

Jamal, Jasmine and Jacinta came to us from a working camel dairy where, through no one's fault, their mums were unable to keep raising them. At 10 months they were old enough to step out on their own, and we were only too happy to give them the loving home they needed.

Our camel crew are dromedaries, the one-humped camel. The breed originates from the Middle East and northern Africa, but surprisingly, Australia has the largest wild population in the world. They were brought into the country as working animals that could carry loads and cope with the harsh desert conditions of central Australia. A common question is how they cope with the cold. The answer: absolutely fine. As desert animals they're used to freezing nights and scorching days, so they live comfortably in our region.

They're members of the camelid family, and close cousins of our alpacas, as well as llamas (we don't have any of those… yet). Unlike alpacas, camels don't need to be shorn. They naturally shed their winter fur down to a sleek summer coat. In the photo above you can see Jamal with a bare neck but some pretty shaggy fur elsewhere. Not his best look!

When this story was written they were around 1.5 m tall at the hump, but they'll grow to over 2 m tall and around 600 kg! They don't reach breeding age until 3–5 years and keep growing for around 8 years, so they're in no rush.

Jamal absolutely loves (LOVES) pats and cuddles. The girls were a bit standoffish at first but have been coming round to us. They're an amazing creature to get up close to.

Guests are welcome to book in during their stay to meet any and all of our animals. So, have you ever wanted to cuddle a camel?