Toronto Zoo reveals name of 4-month-old Bactrian camel calf, with help from Mongolian embassy - Toronto Star
'Zorig,' meaning courage and determination in Mongolian, is the third calf born to parents Suria and Zip.
The zoo held a naming ceremony Friday afternoon along with representatives of the Honorary Consul of Mongolia Toronto, and with support from the Mongolian Embassy in Canada.
The latest addition to the Toronto Zoo’s herd of camels now has a name.
The zoo revealed the male Bactrian calf is called “Zorig,” according to a post on social media. The name means courage and determination in Mongolian, and was chosen with support from the Mongolian Embassy in Canada.
The zoo held a naming ceremony Friday afternoon along with representatives of the Honorary Consul of Mongolia Toronto.
Zorig is the third calf born to mother Suria and father Zip, and the zoo’s camel herd now stands at seven. Zorig was born on May 1, a few weeks after the zoo first announced Suria was pregnant.
The young camel is still spending most of his time close to his mother and is just beginning to learn how to eat solid food, according to the zoo. “He likes to mouth at the hay in his family habitat, and hasn’t figured out how to eat it just yet.”
He is still a young calf, but the zoo notes that he already weighs a whopping 340 pounds, and “can often be seen running around the habitat with a case of the zoomies.”
Zorig brings the Toronto Zoo’s Bactrian camel herd up to seven. He and his family can be viewed every day in their Eurasia Wilds habitat.
Zorig and family can be seen every day in their Eurasia Wilds habitat.
The calf’s name was chosen “to reflect on the meaningful connection to Mongolia itself,” according to the zoo. The Embassy of Mongolia in Canada reached out to Mongolian camel herders and invited them to suggest traditional names for the camel calf.
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“The Bactrian camel holds a special place in the lives of Mongolians, as a part of the history, culture and traditions,” the zoo wrote. “For centuries camels have accompanied Mongolian herders across the vast landscapes of the Gobi Desert, enduring harsh winters, hot summers and long journeys across the desert. For Mongolians, camels represent endurance, resilience and patience and the cherished bond between people and nature that has shaped this nomadic heritage for generations.”
Bactrian camels store fat in their humps — two of them, compared to a dromedary’s one — to help them survive extreme environments. They’re native to Central Asian deserts and can withstand both scorching heat and freezing cold.
Unlike their domesticated counterparts, the wild Bactrian camel is endangered, with fewer than 950 of them remaining in remote areas of Mongolia and China.
Joshua Smith is a staff reporter with the Toronto Star. He can be reached at joshuasmith@thestar.ca.
