Oregon Firefighters Save Stuck Camel

Firefighters in rural Oregon have saved plenty of animals, including their share of stuck cats—but a trapped camel was a unique experience. The animal's owners called in Clackamas County firefighters after the pet camel, which weighs more than 1,200 pounds, became stuck up to its neck in a sinkhole, the Oregonian reports. Fire officials decided that using heavy equipment was out because of the risk of snapping the beast's legs, so firefighters spent hours digging around the animal to fit straps under his belly so they could heave him out by hand.

"The problem is the legs on this animal are like 5 feet long," said one of the rescuers. "They are like little sticks and they are all the way into the mud. It was hard work lifting and digging, lifting and digging." The camel—named "Moses" by his owners, who use him for live Nativity displays—was safely hauled out and the exhausted beast was given the all-clear by a vet before it ambled off to its barn.
(More camel stories.)