Camels have been chosen by the team at Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens to feature in the December entry of our virtual calendar.

They might seem an unlikely choice, but camels, like horses, have been used in warfare for centuries. Their ability to carry heavy loads and go for days without water made them ideally suited for patrol and transport work during the desert campaigns of the First World War.

They were used to carry food, water, ammunition, medical supplies and wounded men during WW1. As part of camel cavalry assault troops, they would attack and stampede the enemies. Conversely they were good companions to soldiers and boosted morale.

Camels can travel between 25 and 100 miles per day (40-160 km), depending on the species, the load, and the journey. Dromedary camels ( those with two humps) were most used during WW1.

We are told the Imperial Camel Corps, which included two New Zealand companies, played a vital role in the Sinai and Palestine campaigns. Between 400 and 450 New Zealanders fought in the Camel Corps. Fourty-one died before the two New Zealand companies were disbanded in mid-1918. The soldiers of the Imperial Camel Corps – known as cameliers – rode their camels to get to the scene of battle and would then dismount to fight on foot.

Cotswold Wildlife Park is home to more than 1,500 animals from 250 different species making it one of the largest zoological collections in the UK. The Park’s commitment to its various breeding programmes has resulted in an impressive number of new arrivals. There have been more than 350 births from 50 different species so far this year.

Keepers are celebrating the arrival of Bactrian Camel, Petra (above). She is the first calf sired by first-time father Louis (named after Prince Louis of Wales as they were born on the same day) and experienced mother Cleo. The wild Bactrian Camel (Camelus ferus) is classified as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and is thought to be one of the rarest large mammals on earth.

You can visit Petra and the other wonderful animals at Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens, Bradwell Grove, Burford, Oxfordshire OX18 4JP.

Tel:
01993 823006
Email:
enquiries@cotswoldwildlifepark.co.uk