Animal Diaries Archive

Teela's Tale

7 May 2004

Teela was born in the wild and sighted by a ranger who was flying over in a helicopter. She had just been born and the ranger noticed that her mother was no where around. The mother had probably been driven off by a male camel. The baby was very vulnerable and still had placenta around her neck. The ranger contacted a friend who raised camels and the calf was taken and raised like a pet. Her quiet and affectionate nature made her the perfect companion to the family.

When Steve began to make inquiries around Queensland looking for a mature female to be a companion to D.J., the owner thought that the Zoo life might better suit Teela and she moved into Australia Zoo. Her job at the Zoo is to be a companion to D.J. and to be petted and hand-fed by the visitors to the Zoo.

Teela is roved every day and goes out to greet people as they approach the Zoo. She loves to be patted and can be seen dropping her head down so small people are able to get up and give her a scratch on her head. She is most happy when either being patted or eating. Teela's favorite foods are carrots, apples, and ice cream cones filled with camel pellets offered by the guests at Australia Zoo.

Teela is the girl with the very clean face and usually has a little bit of froth on the side of her mouth from chewing her cud.

See if you can tell the two girls' photos apart from the identification hints.