r/arizona • u/beekaws • 3d ago

Wildlife Zebra & Camel in Patagonia

Gallery image

Gallery image

Saw these guys awhile back while javelina hunting near Patagonia. I rubbed my eyes at least 3 times. I was convinced that somebody slipped me an acid tab.

192 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

23 comments sorted by

47

u/StopatStopSign 3d ago

Where’s camel 1?

17

u/DragonDan108 3d ago

"I am not a number, I am a free camel!"

2

u/Shaking-Cliches 2d ago

Oh wait I’m Number 5. In your face Number 6!

13

u/BakuriPews 3d ago

We dont talk about camel 1

8

u/beekaws 3d ago

Zebra 1 🦓 Camel 2 🐪

5

u/MrKrinkle151 3d ago

I think we could figure out which was which by the name alone, but thanks

2

u/StopatStopSign 2d ago

Now I am wondering where Zebra 2 is

26

u/Grokent 3d ago

Thanks for labeling the camel, I almost didn't see it.

6

u/beekaws 3d ago

My pleasure

19

u/Kireag 3d ago edited 3d ago

My step dad used to tell me stories about camels wandering around the northern desert area of Arizona. He'd say that in the early 1900s or something the local Sheriffs needed some good desert mounts so they imported some camels to see if they faired better than horses, ended up not using them and just let them go into the wilds of AZ where they survived and continue to do so to this day.

This is all wildly anecdotal and probably untrue (I never bought it), but this photo reminded me of him and his often wonderful tall tales. Or maybe he was right, I never bothered to research it. Thanks for letting me ramble if you got this far.

Edit: grammar and clarity

Edit 2: thank you for the replies, it's honestly really cool that he was correct. I promise my skepticism was justified, the man loves to embellish. He's very precious to me nonetheless.

18

u/-gizmocaca- 3d ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Camel_Corps

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Ghost_(folklore)

This is a good start to a small rabbit (camel) hole.

11

u/warrenao 3d ago

Was hoping someone would link to some of the history of "Hi Jolly". Well done.

3

u/Kireag 3d ago

Amazing. I'm gonna dive right in. Thank you so much

7

u/MysteriousCicada5012 3d ago

Fun fact: camels originated in N. America, migrated and became extinct here, only to be brought back millions of years later by men.

6

u/randallthegrape 3d ago

I know there's are weird laws in Nevada regarding camel / horse interaction so I wouldn't be surprised if they were brought in for the mines too

5

u/picturepath 3d ago

You should look up Red Ghost.

5

u/Complete-Turn-6410 3d ago

He was telling you the truth.  Back in the '70s going east and I would see camels all the time.

3

u/Kireag 3d ago

Neat! That's really cool. In my defense I've heard about 15 variations of how he (my step dad) was born ranging from on a bus in the middle of the Nevada desert to in the middle of a traffic jam in Times Square. There was also the time he got into a 80s style shootout in a bar, used to run marijuana across the California border in his 1970 Satellite and that his cousin was Lee Harvey Oswald. I love him with all my heart but bless him he has got some tales I assure you.

3

u/ScoutCommander 2d ago

I mean, is that on private property? There's clearly a fence there.

3

u/RambleRound 2d ago

There’s some zebras at a house in Prescott. The owner has a landscaping company named ZebraScapes

3

u/beekaws 2d ago

No it’s public land.

0

u/ScoutCommander 2d ago

Ok, cool that's crazy