December 31, 2002|By Melissa Harris, Sentinel Staff Writer
Sir Gus, the kissing camel who delighted Central Florida children for 25 years, died Monday just minutes after he proudly strutted his stuff to cheers from 65,000 people lining the route of Orlando's Super Holiday Parade.
The 2,300-pound camel was riding in his converted yellow school bus along Mills Avenue when the driver had to brake for a firetruck, causing Gus to lose his footing. The animal was sent flying, smashing into the special rear door designed so he could stick his neck out and sniff the breezes as he rode around.
The impact broke one of Gus' front legs, and he later had to be euthanized by a veterinarian.
"The two elder gentlemen who raised the camel were in tears," said Sgt. Orlando Rolon, a spokesman for the Orlando Police Department. "It was a very tragic accident."
Orlando's Bahia Shriners raised the 25-year-old camel from the time he was 6 months old and were devastated by news of his death.
"We just got there at the wrong time," said camel herder Bill Green, 70, who was in the front passenger seat of the bus.
The camel was born in 1977 at the Knoxville Zoo in Tennessee. The Bahia Nobility raised the money to bring him to Orlando, naming the camel after Shriner Noble Gus Patterson, who gave $500 toward the purchase price.
Gus loved the ladies -- the human kind -- and was known for his gentle kisses. A favorite trick was for one of the camel's herders to put a carrot in a little girl's palm. In return for the treat, Gus would give the child a kiss on the cheek with his soft, velvety muzzle.
The life of a party, Gus was much in demand for anniversaries, celebrations, bar mitzvahs and, of course, for nativity scenes during the Christmas season, when he would appear along with the Three Wise Men. Like royalty, Gus' appointments were posted in advance on the Shriners' Web site. This month alone, he had 16 dates.
Green said the life expectancy of a working camel was 25 to 40 years, but as Gus didn't have to carry heavy loads or haul equipment, he could have lived well into his 50s. Gus spent most of his time in a grassy meadow eating fruit, oats and hay and occasionally gulping water. Celibate after surgery in 1978 that made him "forget about girl camels," according to Gus' Web page, he lived most of his years on an east Orange County farm owned by the late Louise Tanner. When Tanner died in 1996, Gus was among the mourners at her funeral.
The camel traveled more than 125,000 miles for Shriners in Florida, Alabama and Georgia, raising money for their hospital and disabled children by selling kisses. In return, smoochers got a sticker saying, "I've been kissed by Sir Gus."
"He was a very big deal," Shriner Bob Carr, 76, said. "He even had his own bus."
A private burial was held Monday afternoon on a Lake County farm. Details of a memorial service will be announced later.
