Winnipeg’s Assiniboine Park Zoo mourns the death of Zara the 2-humped camel

CBC Information

· Posted: Dec 23, 2022 5: 27 PM CT | Past Updated: 3 hours back

A single of the Assiniboine Park Zoo’s mild giants has died.

Zara, a “sweet and light” Bactrian camel, was just about 26 years old at the time of her demise, the Winnipeg zoo stated in an Instagram write-up Thursday.

“Our animal care and veterinary teams not long ago performed a high quality of lifetime evaluation and decided that a humane euthanasia was the most compassionate class of motion for Zara’s welfare,” the article reported.

A longtime favorite animal of several zoo readers, staff, and volunteers over the many years, Zara was the zoo’s matriarch camel.

She came to Winnipeg in November 1997 at much less than a 12 months old, but lived very well past the median lifespan of her species, which is 17.8 years, according to the Affiliation of Zoos and Aquariums.

Zara had been acquiring veterinary treatment for arthritis for decades and her mobility experienced been deteriorating, in accordance to the zoo.

Her treatment group explained her as the “most important and most stunning” of all the camels at the zoo. 

Zara initially lived with a team of Bactrian camels — Luther and Perry — and Camelia, a dromedary camel, then afterwards headed up a herd with three other Bactrian camels: Sophi, Zaya and Tina.

Zaya speedily shaped a surogate bond with Zara soon just after arriving at the zoo in January 2021. Zaya realized from Zara and both equally grew in assurance together, the zoo stated.

CBC Information contacted the zoo for remark, but they were being unable to talk on Zara’s loss of life.