Animal Diaries Archive

A Day in the Life of Teela

21 December 2007

Hi again from the whole exotics team, in this article I am going to fill you in on some of the new things we are doing in the exotics department. Talking about Teela our resident dromedary camel in particular.

Everyday Teela heads out to the front gate to meet and greet all the guests as they come into the zoo. She does this for about an hour in the morning then goes on a nice long walk out in the orchards or inside the zoo. While out the back of the zoo, in our orchards, she gets to walk around as much as she likes, munch on any branches she sees, or even graze on some of the grass. We have recently changed the way we end the walk with Teela. We would usually bring her straight back to her enclosure, instead we are bringing her out on a large grass patch near the Crocoseum. We give her branches to munch on and the occasional palm leaf. We also brush her while we are there. Patrons have had the opportunity to come up and have photos with her also. This experience allows people to come and see Teela, but it also gives her something new to do, and instead of going straight back to her enclosure, she can stay out and meet more people. A young girl raised Teela so any attention is good attention where Teela is concerned. Its also about enriching Teelas life, standing out on the grass allows her to meet many new people, she can smell different things, and meet any of the other animals that are out and about in the zoo. All these new things gives Teela the opportunity to interact with various stimulus and keep her mind active also, which is very important to her wellbeing and is something we aim to do with her everyday.

The extra time we have her out allows us to talk about Teela and camels in general. It gives us a good chance to clear up any misconceptions, and answer question people might have about camels.

From all of the Exotics team we look forward to seeing you around. Make sure to come see Teela when you do get the chance.

Aaron.