PORT ANGELES — Eli the dromedary is turning heads at his new home between Port Angeles and Sequim.
The 8-foot tall camel arrived in Port Angeles from a breeder in Tacoma on Oct. 26, and at times stops traffic when he stands at his fence at the top of the hill, said Becky Northaven, owner of Duneach Farm, located on U.S. Highway 101 near Blue Mountain Road.
“We have a lot of people who stop in front of the property. For the most part, people have been polite and considerate,” Northaven said.
Occasionally curious passersby will use a neighbor’s driveway to try to get closer to Eli, and then park on the neighbor’s leech field.
“That’s not OK,” she said.
People who contact her with requests to visit the camel are welcome, she said.
Eli, a gelding, is 8 feet tall at the top of his hump, weighs 1,700 pounds, and is 9 years old.
Dromedaries live 30 to 50 years.
Most of Eli’s pasture is out of view to the casual passer-by, but sometimes Eli stands at the fence at the top, watching Northaven work on her tractor.
“He thinks if there’s a tractor it’s lunchtime,” she said.
This is the second camel Northaven has owned, and she said she regrets giving up her previous, much larger female camel, which she sold before moving to Port Angeles from California.
That camel was also purchased from a Washington state breeder. Camels typically cost $7,000 to $15,000.
She said she and her family plan to use Eli for riding, to perform in live Nativity scenes with Peppermint the donkey, photo shoots, petting zoos and other activities.
The family practices mounted archery on their horses, she said. She has purchased a custom saddle for Eli, for riding and for archery.
She said she also has a type of saddle for Eli that is similar to those used in zoos for camel rides, so that she can offer rides at events.
Camels evolved on the North American continent before crossing the land bridge to Asia and South America, and are quite comfortable in the winter weather, Northaven said.
Winter and night time temperatures in the desert regions where dromedaries live can be very cold, and Eli has a thick winter coat, she said
Fossilized camel remains have been found from Nunavut in northern Canada to the La Brea Tar Pits in Southern California.
Paleontologists have estimated that the camel died out in the Americas about 10,000 years ago, at about the same time as mammoths and other species in the Americas.
Bactrian camels — heavier-bodied camels with two humps — are found in central Asia, and are similar to the extinct American camel, while the dromedary camel evolved for desert conditions in North Africa.
“Dromedary means swift,” Northaven said, and noted they are longer legged and faster than their Bactrian cousins.
Llama and alpaca are also descendents of the North American camel.
Northaven said veterinarians familiar with llamas and alpacas are able to provide care to the similar but larger dromedaries and Bactrians.
So far Eli is settling into his new home, and has become friends with the horses and donkey who share a fenceline, she said.
She said it is too risky to put Eli and the horses together, because horses, in play and in anger, have a kick that connects lower than a camel would be used to defending from, and Eli could be injured.
Those interested in booking Eli for an event, or to visit or for more information about the farm’s services should phone the farm at 360-477-0022.
________
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
