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Prince Pays Nearly $3 Million for Camel

By BARBARA SURK,
AP
Posted: 2008-04-08 20:39:04
Filed Under: Weird News, World News
MADINAT ZAYED, United Arab Emirates (April 8) - Dubai's crown prince paid $2.7 million for a camel during a desert festival celebrating Bedouin traditions in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, state-run media said Tuesday.

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Chris Jackson, Getty Images

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Once camels were considered beasts of burden. Today owning fine camels is a mark of prestige for the Persian Gulf's ruling elite. Dubai's crown prince, Sheik Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, paid an "unprecedented" $2.7 million for one camel, state media in the United Arab Emirates said Tuesday.

The festival also included a camel beauty contest, where thousands of owners strutted their animals in a bid for the top prize of finest overall camel and separate categories such as best neck, head, lips, nose, hump, legs or feet.

Sheik Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the son of Dubai's ruler, Sheik Mohammed, bought 16 camels for $4.5 million, including one female camel for $2.7 million, the state news agency WAM reported.

The agency called the price tag "unprecedented" but it was not clear if it was an official record.

The hefty sum was still a fraction of the record price paid at auction for a horse. The Green Monkey, a thoroughbred colt, was purchased at a Florida auction in 2006 for $16 million.

There was no indication what Hamdan, Dubai's heir apparent, planned to do with the animal though female camels are often used for racing. Owning fine camels is also a mark of prestige for the ruling elite in the Persian Gulf.

Abu Dhabi's ruling family organized the nine-day festival in a bid to preserve the nomadic way of life in the desert that predates the discovery of oil in the region in the 1960s.

More than 17,000 camels from the oil-rich Gulf countries -- the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain -- were registered for the beauty contest, which gave out millions of dollars in prize money and more than 100 four-wheel-drive vehicles and pickup trucks, the agency said.

Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates and, with the lion's share of the country's oil resources, the richest of the seven semiautonomous emirates that make up the country. Dubai, the largest emirate in population, has been undergoing an unprecedented boom as its leaders shape it into a major financial center.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2008-04-08 16:50:25
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maddawg1245 04:26:47 PM May 16 2008

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I HOPE THE KIDS DO NOT LOOK LIKE THE CAMEL. BRINGS A WHOLE NEW MEANING TO THE TERM CAMEL F##KER.

abuenad7 12:32:13 PM Apr 19 2008

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omj.......who wuld pay that much for camel?

mbackinsjc 11:15:38 PM Apr 17 2008

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The guy from jimmy nutron likes llamas!! NOT camels!!!

blackhwk506 02:25:57 PM Apr 17 2008

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WTF!!!!!!

thatguywhoshotu 09:03:13 PM Apr 16 2008

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ok, thast just sad. We hav all this poverty and stuff out there and his conutry probably has a lot of it and wastes $3 million dollars on a dang camel instead of trying to help his country? wow, that just shows wat our world is becoming.......

accc507 07:57:38 PM Apr 16 2008

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Camels are considered sacred animals in their culture. They consider us having camels in zoos an immoral disgrace. One arab prince(could have been the same guy for all I know) attempted to buy a camel from the Australian Zoo a few years ago. He offered Steve Irwin however much money he wanted for it, basically said name your price, but Steve wouldn't sell it.
=========================================================
WTF Sacred Animals? No there not.

funnyewok 07:11:19 PM Apr 16 2008

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id buy a camel! if the fat guy from jimmy neutron loves camels then i love them 2!

imperiumtenebrae 03:54:13 PM Apr 16 2008

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Camels are considered sacred animals in their culture. They consider us having camels in zoos an immoral disgrace. One arab prince(could have been the same guy for all I know) attempted to buy a camel from the Australian Zoo a few years ago. He offered Steve Irwin however much money he wanted for it, basically said name your price, but Steve wouldn't sell it.

toozcompany77 09:22:22 AM Apr 16 2008

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AND THE BAND PLAYED ON

toozcompany77 09:20:35 AM Apr 16 2008

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AND THE BAND PLAYED ON

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