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Sweet baby camel greets her caregiver in the most adorable but uncannily human-like way

The owner of Flaire’s Flippin’ Critters credits his camels with "saving his life."

Photo credit: Canva

This is too cute for words.

Camels just aren’t one of those animals whose sounds we learn about in school. Do they grunt? Howl? Bleat? One thing is almost certain—you wouldn’t expect their signature call to be “hey.” Nor would you expect it to sound uncannily like a human.

And that’s exactly why an adorable baby camel named Faye is taking the internet by storm. Back in April, her caretaker Flaire Ferrell posted a TikTok of Faye’s incredibly Joey Tribbiani-esque greetings, where even he could barely contain his giggles. Since posting, the clip has racked up a whooping 18 million views.

Needless to say, commenters had a field day.

 
 @flaireexotic Faye says hey!!!! Gotta love baby camels 🥰🐪❤️#camel #hi #camelsoftiktok #hey #fyp #faye #lovellfaye #animal #missouri #baby #babygirl #exoticpets #love #faye #humpday #flaireexotic ♬ original sound - Flaireexotic 
 
 


“Can you please ask the baby if it can add a ‘I’m walking here’ to its vocabulary?” one person wrote.

Another joked, “This camel is walking down the street in Jersey 100% of the time.”

“She’s got a New York accent and you can’t tell me otherwise,” quipped a third.

While the eastern accent might be all Faye, the “hey” sound isn’t. Below another baby camel named Georgia does her own rendition:

 
 @flaireexotic #camel #georgia #hi #howareya #dromedary #baby ♬ original sound - Flaireexotic 
 
 


Feeling cuteness overload? You’re not alone. “My heart just EXPLODED!” one viewer wrote, while another added, “bro it’s so cute I don’t know what to do.”

In an exclusive interview with People, Ferrell said that these “heys” are “not really an uncommon thing for camels,” though they usually deepen with age. Not all of them do, as you can see with Fefe below, who may or may not be channeling a goose:

 
 @flaireexotic My camels really do talk back! 😂🐪 👋🏻 Say Hi to FeFe! #camel #hi #dromedary #camelsoftiktok #fyp #fefe #animal #pet #humpday #everyday ♬ original sound - Flaireexotic 
 
 


Ferrell, who runs a menagerie in Southeast Missouri (Flaire’s Flippin’ Critters LLC) with all kinds of critters—including emus, kangaroos, donkeys, horses, cattle, chickens, pigeons and a single potbelly pig—also told People that camels have been his biggest passion since 2014, beginning with his first pet camel named Roman, who was his “best friend.”

“Camels have really saved my life,” he told the outlet. He hopes that his sweet little videos might help break the stigma that camels are nothing but mean, spit-spewing animals, and help people love them as much as he does.

Fun fact: while camels seem like exotic creatures in the US, the Camel family (Camelidae) first evolved in North America, approximately 44 million years ago. The Camelops, a Camelidae subspecies, remained there until it went extinct. Paracamelus, another subspecies crossed the Bering Strait 7-6 million years ago from North America to Eurasia, thus becoming the ancestor for living camels we know today.

Also, camel milk is the closest to human milk, making it a great substitution for human babies compared to cow’s milk, and is also great for those who are lactose intolerant. While it's not a popular drink in America, it’s been consumed all over the world for centuries due to its nutrition benefits, and there are camel dairy farms in the country that make and sell it.

There you have it. You now know so much more about camels than you did a few minutes ago.

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Depressed shelter cat turns into life of the party after moving into senior living facility

George keeps the residents on their toes with 4 AM zoomies.

Photo credit: Canva

Sad shelter cat gets a new gig at assisted living facility

Cats like dogs have been domesticated and generally thrive off of human companionship. Some might even venture to say that these animals do best when they feel like they're serving a purpose, even if that purpose is to be the foot warmer at the end of your bed. This centuries worth of domestication is the reason so many pets prefer to live amongst humans but for some, one human just won't do.

George is a 7-year-old white domestic shorthair that once called a senior living facility home but when the home closed down, the cat was out of a job. The staff at the facility that housed George brought him to a local animal shelter where he became depressed fairly quickly. Finding a home for the sad cat wan't going to be an easy feat since on top of him looking visibly depressed, he also has a rather unique look.

Many people would love an all white cat but George looks a little off. One of his ears is folded inward at the base and points forward while the other folds down and points off the the side appearing smaller than average cat ears. Couple that with his mopey face and it's a recipe for a long shelter stay.

Tired Cat GIFGiphy

But Four Footed Friends Animal Shelter in Indiana, Pennsylvania did not plan to let George stay in the shelter longer than needed. They knew the sad kitty didn't need to wait for a family to see the potential beyond his physical flaws because George needed a job. A job where he got to be the center of attention any time he walked into the room so Alex and the people at the animal shelter went on the hunt for another senior care home.

"He was definitely depressed, he was down. We had him in a kennel away from the other cats. He responded every time we walked by he gave us a little meow. He wanted attention. You could just tell he just wasn't happy about his situation," Alex tells Geobeats.

The plan quickly became to get George back to work so the shelter started telling local nursing homes about the furry companion in hopes one of them would give him a chance. After the senior living facilities found out the cat had years of previous experience that allows him to bypass meow-ientation, they were lining up to add George to their staff.

Eventually the shelter chose Forest Hills Personal Care Home and George has made himself at home. To no one's surprise, he's purr-fect at his job.

"He's not a loud cat, he's not a super playful cat, he is a comforting cat. I think that's more his speed. He's a lap cat, he's a cuddle cat and he's the kind of boy that'll be very loyal to you and follow you around. He thrives on being able to be with a lot of people," Alex explains. "He wouldn't have done well in a home with just one or two people."

The residents at the personal care home love him and give him all the attention he could ever possibly need. But once his shift is over, all the elderly residents are sound asleep and the night nurses are counting the minutes before their reprieve arrives, George lets loose. He gets the late night zoomies to get in his cardio before another long day of caring for his residents. It sure is hard being a working cat sometimes but somehow George manages to do it without bending a whisker.

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Five farmers rally to save 'world's loneliest sheep' who spent 2 years stranded by herself

A wonderful story of humans helping animals.

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Fiona the sheep had been stranded for two years all by herself.

Sheep are hardy, resilient animals. Depending on the breed, they thrive in the driest of desserts and snowiest of planes. But being highly social animals, one thing they cannot tolerate is isolation. Unfortunately, isolation was a long reality for poor Fiona, a sheep who spent more than two years in solitude at the bottom of a cliff in Scotland.

Dubbed Britain's, then the world’s “loneliest sheep,” Fiona had become something of a local legend—first spotted by a kayaker in 2021, and then again two years later, not malnourished and in good condition, but with badly overgrown fleece and in need of a good shearing.

How exactly Fiona became stuck at the bottom of a cliff was a mystery. But hauling her out was an even more confounding problem.

Despite over 50,000 people signing a petition to rescue Fiona, the Scottish SPCA called the safety logistics “incredibly complex” due to the terrain being so inaccessible, not to mention any human interaction likely causing extreme stress for the stranded rescuee.

That’s when a group of five farmers—including sheep farmer and BBC presenter Cammy Wilson, and YouTube star Graeme Parker— took things into their own hands.

With a whole lotta rope and a whole lotta patience, the team successfully found Fiona in a cave (a little overweight, perhaps eating her lonely feelings a bit) and hoisted her up the steep cliff to safety.

Watch the harrowing resc-ewe mission below. Gotta say, the drone footage makes it look even more epic.

Fiona was then taken to Dalscone Farm Fun in Dumfries, Scotland—a new forever home, where her new owner, Ben Best, dubbed her healthy and relaxed, even if she “could lose a few pounds.”

Though animal rights activists did show concern with Fiona’s new living situation, likening it closer to a “petting zoo” than the sanctuary she deserved, Best affirmed that was not the case, saying, "It's effectively a farm where people can go and visit the animals, but they don't go in amongst the animals.”

He also added that she would be kept away from the public eye for five-to-six months, and not step into the limelight until she’s ready for it.

In 2024, Best gave the world a much-needed update on Fiona's wellbeing when he appeared on the Fed by Farmers Podcast. Spoiler alert: she's doing great. Watch her progress below:


- YouTube

This article originally appeared two years ago.

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Shelter dog doesn't know what to do with her first toy but melts when offered affection

The stray pup's smelly, itchy skin condition didn't stop Rocky Kanaka from scooping the sweet girl into his arms.

Rocky Kanaka/YouTube (used with permission)

Katie's had a rough life so far, but she's starting to get the care she needs.

When Rocky Kanaka first met Katie, a scruffy beige Australian Shepherd mix, he thought she was a senior dog. As it turned out, the shelter pup was only about a year old. She had just been found by a good samaritan as a stray, her fur and skin in terrible shape, her paws swollen and her spirit muted. She didn't even want to look at Kanaka when he first entered the kennel to sit with her.

That all changed as he took the time to sit with her and earn her trust. Kanaka has gained a huge following on YouTube with his videos sitting with shelter dogs, and his way with them is truly inspiring. He brings his own home-baked treats and a huge amount of patience and compassion, helping abandoned animals learn that humans can be kind and caring companions.

Katie is one of many dogs Kanaka has visited, and her behavior in the kennel showed him that she hadn't had much of a chance in her short life to learn how to be a dog.

For instance, when Kanaka offered her a stuffed unicorn to play with, she didn't know what to do with it. He tried a squeaky toy, which she also didn't know what to do with and found overwhelming after a few squeaks. She took Kanaka's treats, but not immediately and not in the way a dog who understands the concept of treats would.

But throughout the video, the stray pup responded to Kanaka's affection and love by melting right into it. She even wanted to sit in his lap toward the end, but didn't seem to know how. Kanaka scooped her up, despite the foul smell her skin condition created, and it's clear that this pupper just loves being loved.

Watch:

It's hard for animals with obvious health issues, especially something as visible as a skin condition that makes them look and smell bad, to attract people looking to adopt. But by taking half an hour to get to know her, Kanaka helped us all look past all that and see Katie's sweet spirit shine through.

So many people fell in head over heels for Katie through this video:

"OMG, The person who gets her will have the best dog as she is so obviously starved for affection and so willing to give it back ten fold."

"That dog doesn't have an aggressive bone in her body. she was instantly ready for you to pet her."

"Her little tail wag broke my heart for what’s she’s been through but also lifted my spirits that she has a strength to survive and become a loved family member."

"It's shocking how neglected she looks but her desire to be loved is so strong. She's going to bring such joy to her forever home."

"I consider myself somewhat of a tough guy.... I'm from the streets, had a crazy hard life, i did 9 yrs in prison, seen it all, done it all and ain't scared of nothing... I'm telling you that because in spite all that, when i see videos like this, i start crying like a 5 yr old girl...Goes to show you that what life has done to them, we can relate, and we see it in animals that have been hurt by others and part if me wants to knock out someone that would hurt a dog or kitty like that. Animals bring out the love and compassion we've forgotten because we know they're teaching us what we definitely need to learn. What is truly considered, unconditional love...."

Rocky Kanaka's work with dogs is both inspiring and informative, and he's succeeded in helping so many dogs find forever homes instead of languishing in shelters because they don't make the best first impression. Not long after this video aired, Katie was rescued and will hopefully continue to get the tender care and kindness she deserves.

Follow Katie's journey on Kanaka's website here. You can also follow Rocky Kanaka's channels on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.


This article originally appeared last year.

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