French President's Pet Camel Accidentally Turned Into Tagine

This is apparently what happens when you give the French president a camel: After helping liberate Mali from Islamic rebels earlier this year, French president François Hollande was given a camel by Malian authorities as a token of appreciation, The New York Times reports.

But of course, you can't really have a camel traipsing around Paris (although Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian joked he could use it to get around traffic jams). Due to some logistics, Hollande left the camel in the care of a family in Timbuktu. The family prompty slaughtered the camel and cooked it in a tasty tagine, local reports say. Oops?

Evidently, the arrangement was simply misunderstood by the family, and Malian authorities claim they will send Hollande a replacement camel, this time delivering the pet to France. An official claims that camel number two is "bigger and better-looking." In the meantime, New York Magazine's Daily Intel has honored the camel in a Taylor Swift mashup. Make of that what you will.