ST. CLOUD -- A camel at a Stearns County zoo bit a pair of employees Wednesday, injuring one of them badly enough to warrant a trip to a St. Cloud hospital by helicopter, officials say.
Stearns County Sheriff鈥檚 deputies were dispatched about 2:45 p.m. to the Hemker Park and Zoo outside the city of Freeport, Minn., where they found that two employees had been injured by the animal, according to a news release issued by the sheriff鈥檚 office.
ADVERTISEMENT
The deputies were told 32-year-old Roger Blenker was escorting the camel through an alley when it clamped its mouth down on Blenker鈥檚 head and dragged him about 15 feet, the news release said.
A second employee, 32-year-old Seth Wickson, placed a plastic board into the camel鈥檚 mouth to force it to release Blenker, who was able to run to safety, the news release said.
The camel then charged Wickson and bit his head, but the man was able to escape.
Wickson refused medical treatment, but Blenker was taken by Life Link Helicopter to St. Cloud Hospital, about 30 miles away. His condition was not immediately known, the news release said.
The zoo remains open to the public, and the incident is under investigation.
The Trust Project
