Loose camel causes stir in central Israel, evades capture

"The municipal veterinary service rushed to the scene and tried to persuade the camel to cooperate, but, being a camel, he had other plans."

 A camel in Rosh Ha'ayin (photo credit: SCREENSHOT/X)
A camel in Rosh Ha'ayin
(photo credit: SCREENSHOT/X)

Social media was abuzz with unusual footage of a loose camel wandering the streets of Rosh Ha’ayin on Tuesday, with municipal veterinarians unable to capture it.

The municipal veterinary service was called to the scene following several phone calls, but was unable to capture the animal, which apparently returned to Kafr Kassem.

Rosh Ha’ayin’s municipality shared a humorous post on social media saying, “Rosh Ha’ayin meets Beersheba: This morning, a report was received at the municipal hotline about a camel strolling calmly through the Afek Industrial Park. The municipal veterinary service rushed to the scene and tried to persuade the camel to cooperate, but, being a camel, he had other plans.”

“He turned around and went back home – to Kafr Kassem – because you don’t mess with Rosh Ha’ayin. And if you see him wandering around again, just give him a smile – we’ve got this covered.”

Shocking sighting

Maayan, who works nearby, told N12, “Suddenly, we saw a camel running outside our office. We were shocked; on the one hand, it was funny, but on the other hand, it was really dangerous.”

 A camel in Rosh Ha'ayin (credit: SECTION 27A COPYRIGHT ACT)
A camel in Rosh Ha'ayin (credit: SECTION 27A COPYRIGHT ACT)

Another witness, Rotem, told N12, “After the sharks in Hadera, it’s no wonder the camel came to Rosh Ha’ayin.”

She said that the camel seemed to be in distress and probably ran away from his owner: “This area is not suitable for this type of animal.”

It remains unclear why the camel was in Kafr Kassem in the first place.