{"id":5921,"date":"2020-04-20T09:57:11","date_gmt":"2020-04-20T09:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/casonagranado.com\/?p=5921"},"modified":"2021-05-14T05:06:09","modified_gmt":"2021-05-14T05:06:09","slug":"the-camels-of-almeria-tell-us-their-story-ursula-and-her-passion-for-dromedaries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/casonagranado.com\/es\/the-camels-of-almeria-tell-us-their-story-ursula-and-her-passion-for-dromedaries\/","title":{"rendered":"Los Camellos de Almer\u00eda nos cuentan su historia. \u00darsula y su pasi\u00f3n por los dromedarios"},"content":{"rendered":"
Escrito por\u00a0Mar\u00eda Calvo<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/div>\n
\n
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I am a bottle, a bottle for friends<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once upon a time in a town in Almer\u00eda, Pechina, a family of camels\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>arrived from the volcanic lands of the Canary Islands 12 years ago, brought by \u00darsula, a German veterinarian who has lived in the town for 15 years.\u00a0After working with them for a few years, he knew that he wanted to set up a farm-school in one of the sunniest corners of Spain and teach the children to interact with these camelids.\u00a0Thus he formed a very particular family.\u00a0Frasco, Eva, Indalo, Petete, Jacinto, Armani,\u2026 are delighted to receive us in Pechina, their land of adoption, and tell us about their day-to-day life, their life with \u00darsula, the camel driver Miloud and the people who come from all over Spain and the world to know them.\u00a0But let’s give the floor to our new friends, Ursula’s dromedaries.<\/p>\n

Our history, a new beginning<\/b><\/h2>\n
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She arrived and now we are part of her family<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hello friends!\u00a0My name is Frasquito<\/strong>\u00a0and I am going to tell you our story.\u00a0The life of our ancestors was very hard, in the Canary Islands we needed a lot for work in the fields and we were there for more than\u00a0\u00a0600 years.\u00a0<\/strong>Then tourism arrived, around the 70s, so we started to work offering tourist trips, which was already a much lighter job.\u00a0Although once, in Africa, we lived in large herds and in larger spaces, so we had less contact with people.<\/p>\n

We met \u00darsula in the\u00a0\u00a0Canary Islands<\/strong>\u00a0, back in 1997. She came to a zoo in Fuerteventura that also had a camel caravan and she wanted to work there as it seemed like an incredible place to her.\u00a0His future boss, the owner of a large group of camels, suggested that he stay and work in a vacant veterinary position for a year.\u00a0That way he could learn enough to do his job well.\u00a0In the end he stayed longer … With this woman he learned a lot of practical work and the camel drivers, former fighters of the Polisario front, introduced him to basic work with camels: handling, feeding, caring for childbirth and raising children, etc. .\u00a0They also let him milk camels, which was what he liked the most.<\/p>\n

\u00darsula always tells us that when a day passed without seeing us, she\u00a0\u00a0only saw humps when she closed her eyes<\/strong>\u00a0.\u00a0She wanted to help\u00a0\u00a0improve camel farming\u00a0<\/strong>in the Canary Islands<\/strong>\u00a0.\u00a0So, he wrote a guide for tour guides;\u00a0organized conferences;\u00a0he asked and advised the camel drivers;\u00a0created an association of breeders … He even collaborated in the creation of the autochthonous camel breed, a work supported by the Complutense University of Madrid and the Cabildo de Lanzarote: “the Canary Camel”, recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>All this work resulted in a book about us that was awarded by the Ministry of Agriculture.<\/p>\n

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Tourist trips<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Our destiny changed after all that.\u00a0It was when we started a journey towards a new life\u2026 a journey of 3 days and 3 nights in huge trucks full of rich straw, inside a ship that was sailing from the Canary Islands to C\u00e1diz.\u00a0The first game left from Gran Canaria and the second from Lanzarote.\u00a0And from C\u00e1diz to Pechina, in Almer\u00eda.\u00a0A few months after arrival we got used to Almer\u00eda, which now, by the way, we like it a lot.\u00a0There we met\u00a0\u00a0Indalo and Vera<\/strong>\u00a0, who came from a\u00a0\u00a0zoo in Murcia<\/strong>\u00a0.\u00a0Later,\u00a0\u00a0some camels were born here in Pechina<\/strong>\u00a0, like little\u00a0\u00a0Turr\u00f3n<\/strong>\u00a0,\u00a0Sierra’s<\/strong>\u00a0son\u00a0\u00a0, and these days\u00a0Guajira’s<\/strong>\u00a0son\u00a0\u00a0.\u00a0Our past is alien to them and it is already far away …<\/p>\n

Camels or dromedaries?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Although everyone here thinks we are camels,\u00a0we are actually dromedaries<\/strong>\u00a0(Camelus dromedarius).\u00a0It is easy to differentiate ourselves as we have only\u00a0one hump<\/strong>\u00a0.\u00a0We come from\u00a0hot deserts<\/strong>\u00a0and we resist the sun’s rays, heat and thirst for a long time.\u00a0Because our body is so large, it heats up slowly, making it easier for us to maintain temperature.\u00a0Despite this, we are lighter than our brother\u00a0camels, the two-humped<\/strong>\u00a0(Camelus bactrianus).\u00a0They live in cold deserts, such as the Gobi, where their robustness and abundant wool help them to withstand temperatures of -40\u00baC.\u00a0There is a third species with a hump, it is the\u00a0wild camel<\/strong>(Camelus bactrianus ferus), which is in danger of extinction.\u00a0They only survive in northern China, in a nature reserve, and in Mongolia.\u00a0All hunchbacks live in the Old World, in Europe and Asia, in Africa and Oceania.\u00a0However, there are more camelids, those of the New World, that do not have a hump.\u00a0Surely you have heard of them, they are\u00a0llamas, vicu\u00f1as, alpacas and guanacos<\/strong>\u00a0.<\/p>\n

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We are dromedaries, we have only one hump … by the way, the one back there is the dog Ruini<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We are calm beings … we love to live in a herd<\/b><\/h2>\n

We are calm beings, we love tranquility, we prefer to be resting than to be running around.\u00a0Maybe people think that we like to walk freely in the countryside or the desert, but in reality what interests us about the outings is to see if there is food.\u00a0It is that\u00a0we are not as nomadic as our ancestors<\/strong>\u00a0, we prefer to be\u00a0resting comfortably at home, to be calm and safe<\/strong>\u00a0.\u00a0And\u00a0we love the schedules<\/strong>\u00a0.\u00a0We want to know what is going to happen, having information gives us security.\u00a0In fact, when \u00darsula takes us out an hour or two earlier, or wakes us up late, we get upset.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Actually, we are not that different from humans.\u00a0You also like to feel safe, live comfortably,\u2026 On one occasion, \u00darsula took us to Moj\u00e1car on vacation, there were plants, bushes, grass,\u2026 she thought we would be at liberty.\u00a0The plan was to be in nature from Monday to Friday and on weekends take people for walks to the beach.\u00a0But we end up missing the safety and ease of the farm.<\/p>\n

What matters most to us is routine, safety, comfort, and\u2026 food!\u00a0We also like to play, especially the younger ones.\u00a0\u00darsula invents games for us, but\u00a0our favorite game is to fight each other<\/strong>\u00a0, especially the young people;\u00a0it is a way to prepare for the future, to seek a good hierarchy within the herd.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For us it is\u00a0important to live in a herd<\/strong>\u00a0, we always seek to be close to each other.\u00a0We are always looking forward to the others coming to work to be all together.\u00a0On the farm there are two herds, Indalo runs the largest, Armani, his competitor, the smallest.<\/p>\n

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We are calm beings and we like to rest.\u00a0The little Nougat leaning on his mother Sierra<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Our little things …<\/b><\/h2>\n

Sometimes we get jealous, we don’t understand that \u00darsula can sometimes treat someone like the “pretty boy” because he’s sick and we think she loves him more.\u00a0But immediately he comes to caress us all and feed us and we forget.\u00a0The truth is that we are a bit complaining, poor \u00darsula !.\u00a0Sometimes we get a little bump or bruise from the fight the day before and when we are saddled or touched, we scream!\u00a0She thinks we are terrible because we complain as if we died.\u00a0So that leaves us 5 days off … but just realizing that we do not have\u00a0anythin<\/i>.\u00a0The camel driver perceives it before, our tricks are useless, he knows that this or that is very loud.\u00a0Other times it is logical that we complain, because the day before they gave us the injection against ticks and we are afraid that they will puncture us again.\u00a0Well, only Jacinto likes to be pricked, he knows that when they draw blood they will give him a piece of bread.\u00a0Most of us ran away … we’re a bit\u00a0shitty<\/i>\u00a0…<\/p>\n

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Nice to meet you!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We introduce ourselves …<\/b><\/h2>\n

We are a lot of people: 20 hunchbacks (as \u00darsula affectionately calls us) with different personalities.\u00a0At the\u00a0Antonio<\/b>\u00a0he likes to\u00a0work and eat, also fighting.\u00a0On the other hand\u00a0, Pepe<\/b>\u00a0was always a fighter with others, but with \u00darsula he is always kind, he adores people and loves to be scratched.\u00a0El Jacinto<\/b>\u00a0is a good worker, a professional who always walks people and is friendly, although he is not affectionate or cuddly and does not especially enjoy being scratched.\u00a0I think it’s because it’s so scary.\u00a0But he does like to be given food, he is very gluttonous, he is always thinking about eating, he sees humans as “food dispensers”, he is the most fan of bread!<\/p>\n

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Maria seems to like us … we’re going to love her a little to see if she gives us bread<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Armani<\/b>\u00a0is the strongest, very kind and very sensitive, and that he is a \u201cwhole male\u201d (that is, he is not neutered), but he trusts humans a lot.\u00a0He is only absent during the mating season, but afterwards, he is always available to spend time with \u00darsula and with the visitors.\u00a0The Frasquito or Frasco is<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0me.\u00a0I was always a calm person and I am the only one who does not work because I have a lump.\u00a0I am always on the loose even when there are children running around the farm, \u00darsula says that I am kind, although not especially loving.\u00a0Pulguita<\/b>\u00a0loves to be scratched, and eating, is always waiting for something to be given to her.\u00a0Eve<\/b>She is the oldest, was born in the Sahara and must be in her 30s.\u00a0In her youth she was a good worker because of her strength and endurance, but here in Almer\u00eda she didn’t carry much weight because she was older;\u00a0however, it took long walks without getting tired thanks to its long legs.\u00a0And she was careful with disabled children and the elderly.\u00a0She is no longer that scared and shy camel that came to Pechina.\u00a0Now she is even alone with people and takes\u00a0selfies<\/i>\u00a0, she has no fear.\u00a0Of course she is very clever, when \u00darsula takes her out to eat, she lies down in the sun, and when it is time to leave is when she starts to eat and wants to be expected.\u00a0\u00darsula gets angry, but she knows how to make him laugh.<\/p>\n

We love to eat!<\/b><\/h2>\n
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We love to eat!\u00a0we see people as food dispensaries, ha ha ha.\u00a0Armani, I\u00f1igo and Miloud<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We are herbivores, we spend our days ruminating the vegetables we eat, such as cows.\u00a0We are used to arid places and our body is adapted to eating a lot of it and making the most of it.\u00a0\u00darsula brings us all kinds of delicious vegetables, I also think of camels that they make in Murcia, although we eat little of this.\u00a0And\u00a0\u00a0what we like the most is the bread<\/strong>\u00a0that Juan Carlos gives us in a store in town!<\/p>\n

To eat we divide into two herds, the large herd goes up to the terrace and eats there, the small herd at home, has a hut with a flower bed.\u00a0Every day after work, the people we take for a walk feed us, they love to do it.\u00a0That’s one of the reasons we like people.\u00a0One of the biggest parties of the day is when, after the second walk in the afternoon, people stay a while longer and then give us bread.\u00a0Or when \u00darsula rewards us with this delicacy for some reason.\u00a0It is so delicious!<\/p>\n

What a pleasure to have our hair combed!<\/b><\/h2>\n
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What a pleasure to be combed and scratched!\u00a0mmmmm.\u00a0\u00a9 Photo.\u00a0Camels of Almeria<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We also like to be caressed and brushed, that’s why we stand in line!\u00a0In time of change we all want to go to the hairdresser<\/strong>\u00a0, it is such a great pleasure!<\/p>\n

At first no one combed their hair, the first to be left was a very conceited camel called\u00a0Camela la Reina<\/strong>\u00a0, who loved to be groomed.\u00a0The children spent hours fixing her, even one day they painted her face pink.\u00a0We were scared, but Camela’s boyfriend immediately perked up.\u00a0And then we started to try all of them, and now we even lie on the sand to get our hair done, it’s a pleasure!\u00a0Even Eva, who is very shy, and watched from afar how they combed our hair, one day a child came up to her and combed her hair, and now she loves it.\u00a0To\u00f1i doesn’t even reach the sand, he already lies down to be combed while he’s still on the road.<\/p>\n

Our day to day\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n
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Eva, the eldest<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We like schedules<\/strong>\u00a0, we prefer that everything is always the same, that way life is easier.\u00a0\u00darsula and Miloud arrive at 8 in the morning and we begin to get up little by little with the illusion of\u00a0having breakfast<\/strong>\u00a0, lest we not have time before work.\u00a0We fill our bellies with delicious straw.\u00a0\u00darsula lately took walks with Guajira, who was pregnant and had to walk, (the little one was already born), and then she lets camels and mallow from the garden eat and lets us go to eat.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then it’s\u00a0time for work<\/strong>\u00a0: they prepare us, saddle us and comb our hair, then they put us in line and we go to work.\u00a0When there is school, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. we go on excursions with the children, we walk them and then at the farm they comb our hair and feed us.\u00a0In summer we take two walks in the afternoons.<\/p>\n

On the days that we do not work<\/strong>\u00a0, the small herd goes out to the terrace in the morning, returns at noon and in the afternoon the other party leaves.\u00a0Armani, when his neighbors go out to the terrace, he goes out to the neighbors’ corral.\u00a0Petete, the grumpy old camel, when these come out, he stays loose in the garden, as it is quiet … and also Eva, the eldest.\u00a0Indalo, in the afternoon, when those from the large corral come out, he goes to the other side.<\/p>\n

One of the best times of the day is dinner time.\u00a0We wait anxiously for \u00darsula to call us for dinner<\/strong>\u00a0and, when the time comes, we run like crazy.\u00a0We know that there is always a piece of bread in the feed and \u00darsula knows that bread brightens our day.\u00a0Later, when it gets dark, we eat some straw and go to bed, although at 12 o’clock at night we get up for a while to eat straw again, until we go to bed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our work<\/b><\/h2>\n
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Walking Day<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It is not that we like to exercise very much, we would prefer to stay at home sunbathing, watching the time go by, it is so nice !.\u00a0Also, we are not like horses that are always standing.\u00a0Our body is super flexible<\/strong>\u00a0, we can double as a beach chair and we take advantage of that to lead this comfortable life that we lead.\u00a0Although \u00darsula says that it is good that we move, that we have to work\u2026 We carry out three different activities:\u00a0tourist walks<\/strong>\u00a0in summer and on weekends;\u00a0birthdays<\/strong>\u00a0on weekends and\u00a0school excursions<\/strong>\u00a0with the children,\u2026 oh, and at Christmas we participate in the\u00a0Horseback Rides<\/strong>\u00a0.\u00a0The truth is that our work is not very hard,we have good working conditions, with many days off and vacations!<\/strong><\/p>\n

The walks<\/b><\/h2>\n

Before we started taking people out for walks we had to\u00a0train for many months<\/strong>\u00a0with sandbags to be able to carry weight in a methodical and rhythmic way.\u00a0Each of us does not take more than\u00a02 or 3 walks a day<\/strong>\u00a0and we always do the same route, which lasts about\u00a035 minutes<\/strong>\u00a0.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n