New Bactrian camel for the zoo
Since yesterday, the zoo has one more resident: Bactrian camel mare Merle travelled to Chemnitz from Dortmund Zoo. Merle spent the first night in her own box in the barn, within sight, hearing and smelling distance of the other Bactrian camels. As of today, she can now go outside.
The Bactrian camels - and of course the visitors - can look forward to a newly designed enclosure. The old fences that enclosed the enclosure have been removed. The enclosure is now surrounded by a narrow moat and stone barriers.
For us humans, this doesn't look like a real obstacle and allows our gaze to wander freely over the spacious enclosure, but for the callosities and passers-by, camels, it is definitely a boundary.
Only in the centre of the enclosure is a piece of old lattice fence still visible, which divides the enclosure. This partition, which will also be dismantled later, is currently still needed for animal management reasons. This will allow "Merle" to acclimatise in peace.
Chemnitz Zoo currently has four Bactrian camels on display: Stallion Dschingis, mare Siri, this year's young animal Nara and now the mare Merle, who was born in March 2017.
The Bactrian camels shown in zoos are a type of domestic animal. As wild animals, they are only found in small remaining populations in Mongolia and China. As domestic animals, however, they are still widespread in Central Asia. They are used as pack animals and as a source of milk and meat.
Bactrian camels live in family groups with an adult stallion. There are also bachelor groups and solitary stallions. Occasionally the animals join together to form large herds.
Opening times:
Zoo: 9 am to 4 pm, last admission 3 pm
Game enclosure: 8 am to 4 pm