Regular Massages Keep Saffron The Camel Feeling Frisky In Her Old Age

Zoos were once places of torture for animals, and some still are, with inappropriate food and inadequate room to roam. However, as its name suggests, Werribee Zoo, on the outskirts of Melbourne, has wide open spaces. Moreover, as part of Zoos Victoria, it shares the commitment to going the extra mile (or meter) for its occupants that led other parts of the system introduce a swim-gym for overweight snakes and bubble machines to keep animals engaged.

That approach includes helping animals manage age-related conditions. Keeper Lauren Irving told IFLScience that means keeping a close eye on the animals to register any change of behavior, and testing therapies beyond just drugs. “A soft tissue approach is new with the ungulates,” Irving told IFLScience, but it has paid dividends.

“Saffron’s health and mobility has really improved. Prior to the treatment, she was a little bit slow to stand up at times and the cold really affected her. But now she’s really active and can now get up and down without too much effort,” Irving said in an emailed statement.

The massages are applied by Christian Langeder, adapting his work massaging champion racehorses. “When massaging, I’m looking for involuntary spasms, inflammation of the muscles, rigidity or any dysfunction. So, during these sessions we were able to identify that Saffron’s condition was arthritic and not muscular related,” Langeder said.

Langeder told IFLScience that Saffron’s hump doesn’t need any attention, so in most respects she can be treated like a horse. “The only real difference is the neck. As far as structure, there is not really much difference between a horse and a camel.”

That doesn’t mean Langeder’s work at Werribee doesn’t require any innovation. He’s already given massages to the zoo’s rhinoceroses, once getting quite a shock when he gave an elderly rhino a pat at the end of her treatment, causing her to shoot out the gate at earth-shaking speed. A bigger challenge could be ahead of him, following the recent arrival of a herd of elephants transferred from Melbourne Zoo so they can have more room to move.

Elderly animals may be unlikely to resist a massage, but the team emphasize their approach is about giving the occupants a choice. Specialist chutes have been created for them to occupy while Langender works on them, and while they are lured in with food treats provided during the therapy, like the rhino, they’re free to leave at any time.

“It just blows my mind to come to a place like Werribee Open Range Zoo that uses rewards-based training, without the need for sedation or anaesthetic. It’s just incredible,” Langeder noted.

Camels have a cantankerous reputation, but while Irving said this can sometimes be well-deserved, she told IFLScience, “There are the same issues with stereotyping animals as with humans. Saffron is an absolute sweetheart.” In the statement she noted: “Saffron’s voluntarily allowed us to take X-rays all while standing still and calmly, and we’ve had a thermal imaging specialist identify where her hot spots are. Our Zoo vets also tailor Saffron’s medication to her needs each week.”

Although the zoo works to fight extinction, breeding endangered species, such as the plains-wanderer, Irving told IFLScience they don’t discriminate, and the fact feral camels are an invasive disaster in central Australia is not held against Saffron.

Irving admitted to IFLScience the vets don’t always get such a friendly response, with many of the animals having learned to recognize their vehicles and taking off in response.

Langeder wouldn’t offer IFLScience readers career advice on how one could gain employment massaging exotic animals, aside from noting he’s once assisted at a wildlife shelter, treating kangaroos and koalas. There are no guides on how to massage non-domesticated species and Langeder told IFLScience each new species is “just a big furry puzzle I work out for myself.”

Irving, on the other hand, had no suggestions on how to be reincarnated as one of Werribee Zoo’s animals.

Visitors to the zoo can sometimes watch the massages taking place, but only from a distance.