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| This is Ralph, the camel man. He and his wife Winona operate a camel farm near Perry OK. Ralph was a fount of good information and what I call a "real character". |
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| They raise Dromedary Camels, or the one hump kind. The two hump camels are Bactrians and according to Ralph, not as much fun! In fact, he classified the Bactrians as MEAN! Camels have a 25 to 50 year life span. Ralph and his wife have had as many as 45 camels on the farm, and currently have about 18. |
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| Winona Showed us that the camels are pretty tame, they don't bite and you can hand feed them. They were a little edgy when we visited because they are used to being outside in the pasture area. Camels are nervous animals and do not handle stress well according to Ralph. They, like some people, don't like strangers and are a suspicious breed. |
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| Camels are pretty valuable! In addition to being good "tree trimmers" and "pasture clearers" (they eat thistles) the camel milk is highly sought after. Females have a 13 month gestation period and calves can be weaned at 2 months. Female young sell for around $3500 and males are bringing up to $4500. A mom with calf can bring as much as $15,000 to $20,000. Color has a lot to do with determining value. White camels are more valuable that their darker color mates. |
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| This is Karen Wilcox from Perry. The farm also boasts some other interesting creatures like this mini donkey. They are very friendly and like to be petted! |
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| This is a baby mini! The trip was a lot of fun and the folks were memorable! Other things to do in Perry include visiting their Core of Engineers Lake, a nice place for a little fishing, hiking or camping and probably a great place to have a family event. They have some nice pavilions around the lake. And a visit to downtown Perry is fun too! Lots of history from the Land Run in this community. |
