United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service National Agricultural Library Animal Welfare Information Center

Information Resources on Old World Camels: Arabian and Bactrian 1941-2004 November 2001 (Updated December 2004) AWIC Resource Series No. 13 Compiled by: Jean Larson Judith Ho Animal Welfare Information Center USDA, ARS, NAL 10301 Baltimore Ave. Beltsville, MD 20705 Contact us : http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/contact.php Policies and Links

Table of Contents

• Introduction
  
• About this Document
  
• Bibliography:
                       2000-2004 / 1995-1999 / 1990-1994 / 1985-1989
                       1980-1984 / 1970-1979 / 1960-1969 / pre 1941-1959
  
  
• World Wide Web Resources
  

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The Camelidae family is a comparatively small family of mammalian animals. There are two members of Old World camels living in Africa and Asia--the Arabian and the Bactrian. There are four members of the New World camels of South America--llamas, vicunas, alpacas and guanacos. They are all very well adapted to their respective environments. The camels thrive in the harsh deserts of Africa and Asia and their South American cousins in the high altiplano and bush area. Most of these species have been integrated into and play very important roles in lives of the indigenous people. They have been traditionally used for transport of people and things, to supply hides and fibers for clothing, other textile articles, and meat and milk products. The animals have been used and bred for several thousand years, but the efforts to understand their biology and diseases in greater depth has been only been done fairly recently. Because camels are still such important animals in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, there has been more interest and need to understand their nutrition and health care needs, reproduction, behavior, physiology, diseases, veterinary care and responses to new climates. This bibliography has been compiled to address these issues.

Camelidae Family (see Mason, I.L 1979 for more taxonomic information and characteristics of these animals.)

The Camelidae evolved in North America. Their ancestors migrated from North America across the Alaskan land bridge to Asia and down across Panama into South America. They eventually became extinct in North America, but adapted well and evolved to their current forms. At one time the camels ranged from Asia to Eastern Europe. After crossing into Africa, they were found across the northern area and as far south as northern Tanzania.

Taxonomy

Camels are in the taxonomic order Artiodactyla (even toed ungulates), sub order Tylopoda (pad-footed), and Family Camlidae. They are ruminants along with the giraffes, deer, cattle, sheep, goats and antelopes. They have several unique features: they walk on pads not hoofs, do not have horns or antlers, and their red blood cells are oval in shape. They also have very high red blood cell counts. All the family members have great water efficiency, long necks, two toes, and well-padded feet. Finally, a camel's toes have a web connecting them.

The New World camels include two wild species in the high Andes of South America. They are the vicuna (Lama vicugna) and the guanaco (Lama guanacoe). The native people of the Andes domesticated the llama (Lama glama) and the alpaca (Lama pacos). There seems to be some controversy over the parent species of the alpaca and llama. The evidence suggests that both domestic species were derived from the guanaco. They all have long necks, but no humps. They do have the ability to survive in harsh dry climates due to their ability to conserve their body water.

General Overview of the Characteristics of Old World Camels

The Old World camels fall basically into two species, the Arabian and the Bactrian. Linnaeus named the two species known as Camelus dromedarius and Camelus bactrianus. The Arabian camels have one hump on their backs and the Bactrian have two humps. They both live in desert areas. There are still Bactrian camels that exist in the Gobi desert as wild animals, but their numbers are dwindling due to human encroachment.

The Arabian camels no longer have wild relatives but exist as domesticated animals. It has been suggested that they are actually derived from the Bactrian camels and lost one of their humps in the process of domestication. Archeologists think that domestication took place in the middle or southern part of the Arabian Peninsula about 3,000 B.C. From there, they moved to other parts of the Middle East and eventually into North Africa. They are used: as pack animals; for human transport; and as a source of wool, hides, meat and milk. Some are used for racing competitions. Today, there are several breeds. The most popular and well known breed is the dromedary. Other riding breeds include the Mehari of the Sahara and the Mahri of Pakistan.

An interesting part of the use of camels had been their introduction into countries far from their origin. Today, they are seldom transported to other countries other than for exhibit. Small land owners prefer the smaller, more easily cared for and more tractable South American camelids. Some of the more notable introductions have occurred in the last 200 years. They took place in Tuscany, Spain, Australia, the Canary Islands and South America. In the U.S., they have been introduced in Virginia and in the desert areas of Arizona and Nevada.

Although there are environmental conditions in other parts of the world that can support these animals, the most successful introductions were in Australia. They were first imported from India by the British in 1860 and 1866. The camels became very important in the development of the interior of the country. Camel trains carried supplies to the outback mining and ranching stations, and aided in the general exploration and construction of transcontinental telegraph lines and railroads. After the use of autos and trucks began to make the camel obsolete, they were turned loose and established feral herds. Although they do not eat the same foods as cattle and sheep, some ranchers consider them vermin.

Certainly some of the more interesting characteristics of camels are the physiological changes that have taken place to allow them to live in such dry environments. They exhibit several notable adaptations: long eye lashes that protect their eyes from sand, control of the opening of the nostrils, a body structure that allows the animals to stand above the hot sand and allow for heat loss, and the ability to reach tall forage. The body temperature of the animal can fluctuate between 93 and 105 F; therefore, sweating is reduced. Their ability to withstand water deprivation is truly remarkable and stems from several factors. They don't over heat, can withstand water loss, and store fats in the hump for use in times of food and water deprivation. In times of dehydration, the water seems to be lost from tissues, but not blood. For this reason there is no circulatory distress and the animals can sustain a loss of up to 25% of their body weight. (Humans lose water from blood and tissue and will die of sluggish circulation at a loss of 12% of their body water.) Camels can also re-hydrate very quickly. They are considered quite bad-tempered animals that are unintelligent, untrustworthy and can render a nasty bite. Their adult teeth are similar to the fangs of a canine.

Both of these camels can interbreed and appear to produce fertile offspring. Numerous aspects of these important and economically valuable animals have been and continue to be studied. In the bibliography you will find many of the recent research papers.

For an interesting historical article on the importation of camels into the United States in the 1850's, see the following article: The Government's Importation of Camels: A Historical Sketch by Charles C. Carroll.

Military Camels: A Working Bibliography of MHI Sources

This information resource compiled by the US Army's Military History Institute contains a short bibliography on the use of camels in the military. A number of references are to historical resources on camel importation and the experience of the US Army Camel Cavalry Corps in the 19th century. Other historical topics include anecdotal information on US military use in other countries as well as camels used for military purposes in foreign situations.

Note: The following reference materials were used in the overview of camels above.

Burton, Maurice; Burton, Robert. Marshall Cavendish Corp. The International Wildlife Encyclopedia. New York: B.P.C. Publishing Limited. 1969. v. 10. p. 1329-1331.
NAL Call no.: QL9.B82

Burton, Maurice. World Publishing Company. The World Encyclopedia of Animals. New York: 1972.
NAL Call no.: QL9.B8

Mason, I.L. Origins, Evolution and Distribution of Domestic Camels. Volume 1. W. Ross Cockrill, eds Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, Uppsala. Note: Proceedings of the Khartoum Workshop on Camels, December 1979, p. 16-35.
NAL Call no.: SF401. C2K48 1979 v. 1

There have been a number of decisions made regarding the topics that are included in this publication. In most cases, the topics are related to the whole animal: biology, behavior, nutrition, feeds, reproductive physiology and the birth process, breeding and genetics, diseases, disease organisms, zoonotic aspects of infectious diseases, external parasites, veterinary care, etc. Some camel-based products are addressed: milk, milk composition, microbiology and uses; some aspects of meat; and the value and use of hides and fiber. Economics of camels and camel-based products as well as their role in the lives of the nomadic people are also included. Organoleptic qualities of meat and dairy products are not included.

The information in this resource has been extracted primarily from the AGRICOLA database, and the collection of the National Agricultural Library. It is not a comprehensive listing of the Worlds literature available on these animals. The published sources of most of the information include: journal articles, books, book chapters, conference papers, and reports. Abstracts are included when available. Some credible World Wide Web resources are also listed. All references include the National Agricultural Library call number for ease when requesting photocopies or interlibrary loans. Please see http://www.nal.usda.gov/services/request.shtml for lending and document delivery information.

The bibliographic citation section is arranged by publication year and alphabetically by author within each year. Since this is an electronic version, it does not include an index. It is expected that by searching using key words, the user will find what is of interest. Most of the information is in English. References include materials published from 1941 through 2004.

The compiler welcomes additional information from other sources for inclusion as well as any comments or suggestions. It is desirable to have a comprehensive resource of information about these animals, and collaborators are also welcome. If you have or know of science based information that would enhance this publication, please contact me. Note that any information submitted must include important elements of identification and access i.e. author, year, publication information, title, accessibility, etc.

Please send your comments, information, or suggestions to:

The Animal Welfare Information Center
10301 Baltimore Ave.
Beltsville, Maryland, 20705, USA
Contact us: http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/contact.php
Tel: 301-504-6212
Fax: 301-504-7125

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February 2, 2005