Hinterland who's who: one hump or two?

Yesterday I was introduced to Jamal.  Young, athletic,  calm.  Long of leg, lovely "coat"...not a bit disturbed from his late morning snack by this very curious woman stopping and fumbling with her phone like a hill billy paparazzo.

You see, we don't see a lot of newcomers like Jamal in this neck of the woods.  But the real headsmacker was..one hump?  Is Jamal a camel or a dromedary?

Oddly, southern Alberta is not generally known for camels, tho I've heard they were employed to take prospectors to the Yukon during the gold rush.  And indeed some escaped, living like weird looking moose, until the last one was hunted.

Jamal, his two caretakers cheerily explained as they pulled up, and in typical prairie fashion rolled down their windows to say howdy, Jamal is a pet.  This should not have come as a surprise,  I mean people have pets right?  And, they went on to tell me, all wide grins and windblown hair, Jamal is a sweetheart.   Fond of apples and neck rubs.  How cool is that!
The owner, a young fellow who's fortune was initially made selling Thompson Ground Squirrels aka gophers...to the Japanese as adorable pets..rumour has it a mattress lined vac truck was originally employed to amass inventory. .has a business in exotic animals.

This might explain the 3 Ibex, one 5 horned sheep, 2 large Yaks and a whole bunch of mini (and I suspect fainting) goats.

I always linger near the paddocks when passing...its a treat!  Whether a speeding herd of baby potbelly pigs, or a pair of stately Japanese Cranes calmy strutting by, it never fails to amaze me!  One thing for sure, Jamal won't lack in companions, love & attention, or admiring passersby.

Country living..whats not to love!