Support from Cincinnati Zoo

Dear John Hare,

I never knew how amazing camels were until I got the privilege to work with them at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden (CZBG). Both of our camels had their own great personalities. Our male Humphrey was hand-raised and came to us at a year old. He adored his keepers and all the zoo guests that came to see him. The guests loved him too. He would walk to the other side of the exhibit to see and greet them usually making happy grumbling noises the whole way. Saarai, our female Bactrian camel was very sassy and you had to earn her trust. It was all on her terms and time. She was very independent and loved food. We also had a Przewalski horse that lost her roommate and needed company. When we introduced her to the Bactrian camels. Saarai and the horse were instant friends and remained so for the rest of their time here before moving on to new adventures. The love I have for our amazing camels I had the privilege to work with has turned into a love of all camels, and other camelids as well.

Learning of the WCPF and getting to educate our visitors about the great things your organisation does for a struggling species has inspired me to want to do more. With how personable Humphrey is I was able to condition him to make kiss paintings to sell. CZBG and our gift shop graciously worked with me to sell the paintings in our gift shop and raise more money for WCPF. I have included a specially made Humphrey kiss for you to keep. It has been an honor to work with camels, educate people about them and your conservation efforts, and raise money for such a great species and cause. Thank you for all you do to make a difference.