Camels are amazing creatures. They are the sharks of the deserts, perfectly adapted to their environment: their thick foot pads can withstand the scorching sand of the Sahara, their blood cells can survive wicked dehydration, and their scat is so thoroughly drained of precious water that it can be used as kindling for fires.

And in Turkey, camels wrestle.

Camel wrestlers are the bodybuilders of their species - specially fed so as to be gigantic, and all the more majestic as they’re marched through Turkish villages ever winter. They are often decked out in majestic finery, if not armor. Camels, being camels, appear to take it all in stride. Camels always seem to be smiling, probably because humanity amuses them.

The wrestling itself is less like UFC, and more like Curly and Moe. More often than not, these gentle creatures simply lean into each other, quite half-heartedly, as villagers cheer them on. The real action, however, is when one turns and flees: weighing nearly a ton, bystanders have to leap out of their way before being crushed underneath a panicked dromedary.