THE HIGHLAND Wildlife Park in Kingussie has announced the sad news that their oldest Bactrian Camel, Caramel, has passed away.
Caramel reached the age of 21 before succumbing to age related issues and sadly passing away earlier this week.
The park made the disheartening announcement yesterday, just over a month since confirming the death of their eldest female snow leopard, Animesh.
Caramel the camel was housed in ZSL (Zoological Society of London) Whipsnade Zoo before moving to Edinburgh Zoo when she was one and then transferring to the Highland Wildlife Park five years later.
The park, situated within the Cairngorms National Park, announced the loss yesterday, saying: “We are sad to share the loss of Caramel, our eldest Bactrian camel.
“At 21 years old, Caramel had been facing age related health issues and was being cared for closely by our expert keepers and vets.
“In 2004 Caramel moved from ZSL Whipsnade Zoo to Edinburgh Zoo with her mum – she was only one year old at the time.
“After five years at the zoo, she moved up to the park, where she had been a favourite among staff and visitors ever since.”
Bactrian camels are known for their distinctive two humps rather than the single hump seen on Dromedary camels and are native to Central Asia.
They are critically endangered in the wild but two females, Dierdre and Dippy, still live in the park.
According to various zoological findings, Bactrian camels can live up to 40 years in the wild, but in domesticity only live to around 20-30 years.
Highland Wildlife Park recently lost another inhabitant at the end of last year, a female snow leopard who died of unknown causes at the age of 11.
She welcomed six cubs since her arrival in the Cairngorms in 2015, two of whom remain in the zoo.
