A rare baby camel that was born at the Budapest Zoo has made his first public appearance. The baby Bactrian camel was born on April 9 to an eight year old camel who lives at the Budapest Zoo as well. The baby’s father was from another zoo.
The baby camel is named Ilias and his family has been living at the Budapest Zoo for years. The Budapest Zoo opened in 1866, and is one of the world’s oldest zoos.
Bactrian camels are endangered and there are very few still left in the wild. The live in the Gobi and Gashun Gobi deserts of northwest China and Mongolia and unlike Arabian camels which have one hump, Bactrian camels have two humps.
While Ilias’s birth was celebrated, there were some minor complications.
“When he was born there were problems, the baby was looking for milk from the mother, but as this was her first baby she had no experience,” Zoltan Hanga, a spokesperson for Budapest Zoo said. “Us zookeepers had to hold down the mother and gently help the baby to feed.”
Ilias is doing great now and his debut at the zoo was a hit. While not everyone was able to see the baby camel up close, pictures of him spread quickly online and people shared their excitement of the new birth on Twitter and other social networks.
It's hump hump day, I guess. Welcome newborn Ilias, a very rare Bactrian camel baby born in Budapest. #TwoBumps pic.twitter.com/EonqJSCVo3
— Ambien Puppet (@AmbienPuppet) April 16, 2014
It's HUMP DAY! Baby camel Jack's humps were flat when he was born. Now they're filling with fat & stand up! photo – http://t.co/ccWifif2d5
— Cincinnati Zoo (@CincinnatiZoo) April 9, 2014
@budapestzoo Happy Birthday to Ilias, may he grow big & strong and continue to add more to his Bactrian camel family. pic.twitter.com/AcUcfMsiE8
— Tynies (@TyniesWorld) April 16, 2014
There are less than 1,000 Bactrian camels living in the wild today. The Cincinnati Zoo welcomed the birth of a baby Bactrian camel in February.
Happy Hump Day! Jack is 1 month old at the @CincinnatiZoo! pic.twitter.com/3xMvWFpIqL
— Mary Kate Gaffney (@FOX19MaryKate) March 26, 2014
Baby Bactrian Camel takes his first steps at @CincinnatiZoo – see the video at http://t.co/5H5RzHVRwT pic.twitter.com/J6NjWpbX6e
— ZooBorns (@ZooBorns) March 9, 2014
The baby Bactrian camel is also a male and is named Jack. Jack also has an older step brother that was born in 2012.
What do you think of the newborn Bactrian camel babies?
Image via YouTube
