Camel Dressage Just what it says on the tin. (sytp)
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies on Dec 22, 2012 - 23 comments

The U.S. Camel Corps was a short-lived experiment run by the U.S. Army before the Civil War, the result of two decades of support for importing and utilizing the foreign pack animal by George H. Crosman and some of his friends and colleagues. More than 70 camels were brought from the Middle East and southern Europe, along with 5 camel drovers from Greece and Turkey, arriving in Texas in 1856. A select few of that bunch made the trek across "unexplored territory" from El Paso to the Colorado River, with camels faring the best among the group of men, horses, and mules. When James Buchanan became president in 1857, there were numerous changes in command, including the commander of the Army in Texas, who "was outraged when he discovered a herd of camels under his command." By the time the Civil War started, the Camel Corps was dissolved and forgotten, but both the animals and the drovers would leave their mark in the West. [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief on Aug 23, 2012 - 23 comments

"OK. HOLY COW! OK, that's fine, two big camels just passed me by... (giggling) Yes... There are camels on the highway. There's a circus somewhere and there are camels on the highway. Yes, Yes. No, no, no, there are two camels and I'm filming them." French drivers meet a couple of stray camels on a Normandy highway and try to capture them.
posted by elgilito on Jun 6, 2012 - 17 comments

Galleries of old photographs of camels in America, Australia, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, China, Mongolia and India, in war | camel breeds | How the Camel Got His Hump from Camel Tales, Folklore & Legends| baby camels and lots more at this one stop site all about Camels. Previously.
posted by nickyskye on May 14, 2012 - 17 comments

What's a Bigger Draw Than a Camel Fight? A Camel Beauty Contest, of Course To the uninitiated, what makes a camel beautiful isn't exactly obvious. But organizers of the Selcuk championship hope the addition of a pageant will draw new enthusiasts to the sport of camel fighting, which is struggling to stay relevant in an increasingly modern and urbanized Turkey.
posted by jason's_planet on Jan 22, 2011 - 9 comments

"It's just like judging a beautiful girl," said Fowzan al-Madr. "You look for big eyes, long lashes and a long neck." The art and science of Saudi Arabian camel beauty pageants. More Riyadh market photos here. Lots of information about Dromedary (Arabian) camels here and here. Listen to Dromedary camel sounds and read about Saudi camel history at this site.
posted by amyms on Mar 17, 2008 - 33 comments

From far away they came to toil under the scorching Outback sun, and their hardy dispositions and tireless labor helped to create the central Australian railway and telegraph systems. They are the Camels [NPR story w/ audio], and today they are free (well, okay, feral), and they are many (700,000 strong, at least.) While they're no cane toads, they're becoming a bit of a pest. What to do with all those dromedaries? Well, you can race 'em, or you can eat 'em, or maybe you can even try milking 'em. Just get 'em before they get you, mate.
posted by maryh on Dec 9, 2006 - 18 comments