Woburn Safari Park opens camel house - and welcomes a new herd

A herd of Bactrian camels have moved into a new enclosure following the construction of their new home at Woburn Safari Park.

The keeper team welcomed the camels to their new home with some fun housewarming gifts and a special ‘Welcome Home’ sign made with some of their favourite treats.

Bactrian camels, with their distinctive two humps, can reach over seven feet tall and weigh around 1800lbs, so their new home had to be carefully designed to accommodate the specific needs of this larger-than-life species.

Tom Robson, Head of Reserves, said: "The house includes an area for feeding, one large bed for sleeping and plenty of space for the expanding herd, including newest calves Wednesday and Walter who were born earlier this year and still have lots of growing to do.

“The forward-thinking design also allows for separate living areas to be sectioned off if needed, so if the camels do breed in the future then the cow (female camel) and calf could have their own area if needed,” he added.

The new house also help keepers with behaviour training and interacting with the camels, completing important health and welfare checks and administering veterinary care.

Bactrian camels can withstand huge changes in temperature due to their thick winter coats and annual summer shedding, so enclosures do not need to be equipped with any special life support systems. The new house does however provide a perfect shelter if they want to escape any bad weather with large barn doors allowing visitors the opportunity of seeing the camels even when sheltering from the elements.