The Ship of the Desert. the Dromedary Camel (Camelus Dromedarius), a Domesti• Cated Animal Species Well Adapted to Extreme Conditions of Aridness and Heat
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The ship of the desert. The dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius), a domesti• cated animal species well adapted to extreme conditions of aridness and heat S. Bornstein1* 1 The National Veterinary Institute, Box 7073, S-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden * Veterinary consultant for a SAREC (Swedish Agency for Research Cooperation with Developing Countries) sponsored Camel Project in Somalia. Abstract: The dromedary camel (Camel dromedarius) is extremely well adapted to life in hot and arid lands. In terms of physiological adaptation to heat and water deprivation it surpasses by far every other large ani• mal of which data have been collected. None of the adaptive mechanisms to cope with the environmental stresses are unique to the Arabian camel, but the efficiency of its adaptation is superior. At high ambient temperatures the camels adapt to the scarcity of water by reducing their faecal, urinary and evaporative water losses. During dehydration, the kidneys reduce water losses both by decreasing the glomerual filtration rate and by increasing the tubular reabsorption of water. Also their ability of regulating their body temperature from 34.5-40.7°C conserves a lot of water, when most needed. Key words: heat-adaptation, water conservation Rangifer, Special Issue No. 3, 1990: 231-236 Introduction For hundreds of years the camel (Camelus spp) vironments of arid and semiarid Africa and had been exploited by man in Asia and Africa Asia. in arid and semiarid areas - often being the only supplier of food and transport for people. Camelus spp In the aftermath of the devastating droughts, There are two species of camels belonging to which hit Africa during the 1970s and 1980s an the camelidae. The two- humped or Bactrian interest has awakened in this beast of burden camel (Camelus bactrianus) is found in Asia and and provider of milk, meat, wool, fibres and thrives particularly in cold and arid regions. hides. The camels are truly multi-purpose ani• The one-humped or dromedary camel (Ca• mals. They have shown to be better adapted to melus dromedarius) also called the Arabian ca• extreme conditions in most aspects than other mel, because it is closely linked with Arab his• domestic ruminants husbanded in the harsh en• tory and culture. The dromedary is found in al- Rangiler, Special Issue No. 3, 1990. 231 most all the hot, arid and semiarid regions of the Middle East including the South Arabian the "old world": throughout northern Africa peninsula, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, North and parts of Asia. Western India, China (Western Sinkiang) and in the south-western Soviet Union (mainly Turkmenistan). Origins of the Camelidae At the northern and eastern edges of the dro• The camels belong to the Camelidae in the ru• medary camel's range in Asia one finds the minant suborder Tylopoda of the order Artiodac- Bactrian camel in the mountainous regions of tyla (even-toed Ungulates). The Tylopoda (pad- southern Russia and in the cold deserts of footed) walk on cushioned pads at the end of China including Mongolia. The total popula• the digits (the second and fourth). tion of Bactrians in China is estimated to be The Camelidae differ from other true rumi• about 600 000 (some sources say over 1 milli• nants in not having horns or antlers. Their fo- on, Mason, 1984). 60% of these animals are restomachs are different morphologically and found in inner Mongolia. The limits of the physiologically. A special feature of the Cameli• camel-breeding area follow the isohyet for 50 dae is the oval shape of their red blood-cells - cm of rain and the Bactrian camels are not unique among mammals. found where the mean annual temperaure is Fossils show that the early evolution of the above 21° C (Mason, 1984). Camelidae took place in North America. The The camel today is essentially a domestic ani• earliest found ancestor (Protylopus) from the mal of pastoralists and agropastoralists. How• Upper Eocene period was no bigger than a ever camels are also found in areas of perma• hare. nent cultivation i. e. desert oases, along the The Camelus spp appeared during the Pleis• Nile in Egypt or in Indian and Pakistani tocene period, and during one of the ice ages villages. when there was a land-bridge between Alaska The dromedary camels have very special ana• and Siberia (the present Bering strait) "early tomical and physiological characteristics, which camels" spread into Asia. enables the animals to live, reproduce and pro• During the migration and evolution of the duce milk and meat and to work under extreme camels in the "Old World", the camel groups conditions of heat and aridness - even during died out in Northern America. However, some periods of drought when cattle, sheep and Camelids had migrated to South America and goats barely survive. evolved to the present South American Came• lids; the three species of the genera llama and Anatomical advantages the one species of the genus Vicugna. Skin and coat Insulation from high environmental tempera• Distribution ture depends on the quality (i.e. density, thick• The population of the dromedary camel is ness, texture, colour) of the coat of the animal, much more numerous then the Bactrian camel the colour and quality of the skin and the pre• and constitutes about 90 per cent of the genus sence of layers of fat in the subcutis. Camelus in the world. In theory animals exposed to high levels of More than 80 per cent (12 million) of the solar radiation should preferably have a Arabian camels are found in Africa in more smooth reflective coat, which should not be than 18 countries, forming an important part of too thick to prevent evaporation at the skin sur• the domestic livestock population. face nor too thin, in order to avoid too much In Asia the dromedary camels are found in heat striking the skin surface. 232 Rangifer, Special Issue No. 3, 1990. Most types (breeds) of dromedary camels li• tween breeds, and is influenced by climatic ving in hot arid environments conform to the factors, the quality and quantity of the forage, above requirements. The "summer" coat of and its water content, the age of the animal and dromedary camels are usually light in colour, the type of work it is subjected to (Gauthier- rather thin and sleek, effectively reflecting the Pilters and Dagg, 1981; Schmidt-Nielsen, solar rays. 1964). It is also influenced by training (mana• gement). Size During the rainy season the herbage is often The large size and height of the camel can be rich in water and the camels will also find sur• of some advantage in heat regulation. (The face water in natural dams. During the winter Arabian camel stands over 2 meters at the and cool season (6-7 months) in the Sahara shoulders and an adult camel weighs about the camels can go without water. They do not 400-700 kg). A large body mass heats up much even drink when offered water. The fodder has more slowly than a smaller mass exposed to enough moisture for the maintenance and pro• the sun (Yagil, 1985).The long legs and the ductive requirements (Gauthier-Pilters and large humps, containing adipose tissue, gives Dagg, 1981) to the camel a large skin surface in relation to the body mass, which is another advantageous During the dry season when pastures have feature in regards to heat regulation. dried up camels are taken to water every 6-10 The height above the ground (long legged) days. In extreme situation they can go without allows the desert winds free access to the body water for over a month (cattle have to be thus in some circumstances cooling it effect• watered every 2-3 days). ively. It also enables the camels to browse high When the mean temperature reach 30-35°C above the ground reaching 3.5 meters into the in the Sahara and in the Sahel, camels can go canopies of trees and bushes. This character• 10-15 days without water but when the tempe• istic together with their preference to browse rature exceeds 40°C, shorter periods between on many kinds of bushes makes them an excell• watering is necessary (Gauthier-Pilters and ent complement for multi-species herds in dif• Dagg, 1981). ferent kinds of rangelands, increasing the pro• According to Schmidt-Nielsen et al. (1956) a ductivity of the land without really competing camel can lose water (dehydrate) of more than with other livestock (Evans and Powys,1984). 25% of its body-weight. Gauthier-Pilters and The camels graze and browse in ways similar to Dagg (1981), when studying camels in the Sa• some wild ungulates. They keep moving while hara during the summer, saw camels of 500 ki• feeding, nibbling a few bites here and there los body-weight drinking 150-200 litres of from one plant to another. Their long muscular water after being without it for 5-7 days. The legs allow them to cover vast distances in search camels compensated their dehydrated state by of water and food. Even on rich pastures they drinking over 30% of their weight. This they may cover five kilometres in two and a half usually do very quickly. In a couple of minutes hours while grazing and browsing (Gauthier- they have drunk most of what they need. A well Pilters and Dagg, 1981) nourished camel will drink 10-20 litres per minute. The more dehydrated a camel becomes the Water conservation more it conserves water (Schmidt-Nielsen et The camels' ability to survive long periods with• al., 1956; Charnot, 1958; Clair, 1962). Camels out water is legendary. This ability varies be• do not store water as was thought not so long Raitgifer, Special Issue No.