This is quite a departure from the usual subject matter of this blog, but it was such a bizarre story that I had to pass it along.
And I suppose it can be regarded as a public service warning: if you must have an exotic pet, make sure it’s the sort that doesn’t grow up to be bigger than you!
From the BBC:
A woman in Australia has been killed by her pet camel after the animal may have tried to have sex with her.
The woman was found dead at the family’s sheep and cattle ranch near the town of Mitchell in Queensland.The woman had been given the camel as a 60th birthday present earlier this year because of her love of exotic pets.
The camel was just 10 months old but already weighed 152kg (336lbs) and had come close to suffocating the family’s pet goat on a number of occasions.
On Saturday, the woman apparently became the object of the male camel’s desire.
It knocked her to the ground, lay on top of her and displayed what the police delicately described as possible mating behaviour.
“I’d say it’s probably been playing, or it may be even a sexual sort of thing,” the Associated Press news agency quoted Queensland police Detective Senior Constable Craig Gregory as saying.
Young camels are not normally aggressive but can become more threatening if treated and raised as pets.
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If you are going to go (come) may as well d so in style.
They better put it down before it dies of a broken heart.
Again I say unto you, it is necessary for a camel to go through the eye of a needle for a Queensland farmer to enter the kingdom of God
Famous last words….
Ooooh Gerald!
Camel’s statement…
Well it’s been pretty dry around these parts lately
Queensland police say they are still searching for the murder weapon…
Interesting, this is basically the same thing that mortgage investments have been doing to the hedge funds over the last few weeks!
— Jack Staub
“I heard a some noises behind the yard. Then they just stopped”… said one witness.. “It must have been all over in 30 minutes or so.”
Forensics say there were no signs of a struggle. DNA samples are being sent to Queensland Zoo.
Neighbours say the camel was quiet and kept to himself, had few friends but had
not grown up in the area. The camel had been seen in an altercation with some locals
recently. “It was more of a spitting match than hammer and tongs” said a farmhand.
Prime Minister Howard said it strengthened the case for a banning alcohol and
pornographic literature from zoos and animal dealers and prmised to press ahead
with legislation.
The Queensland Camel Dealers Association could not be reached for comment
Ooh, these comments are great. I may have to make zoophilia a regular feature.