World's shortest camel entered in beauty contest

Arabian camels are gathering in North Saudi Arabia for the annual camel beauty pageant, where one of the beauties tipped to win is the shortest camel in the world.

Tales of camels being offered in exchange for a man's wife are part of Arabian history, stemming from desert heritage. In keeping with the tradition of often valuing camels more than women, men from the Gulf states are enjoying participating in the Mazayin Dhafra Camel Festival, which includes a beauty pageant for the prized animals. Emirates 247 reported in December that the 31 day contest, to be held in North Saudi Arabia, would attract 280 camel owners and 13,678 Arabian camels. Owners bring their beauties from UAE, Kuwait and Qatar to join the Saudi camels. Camels are judged on their appearance, with special attention paid to their shiny hair, firm ears and humps. The camels parade for the judges, flattering their eyelashes and puckering up their lips. Emirates 247 now reports that the shortest camel in the world is due to compete in the beauty pageant, and is billed as the star attraction. The camel's owner said "It is a dwarf female camel not exceeding 1.5 metres high…she is the shortest living camel in the world.” During the first two weeks of the camel festival camels worth $133 million were sold. Some of the beauties are displayed in photographs by Arabian Business.