The Genus: Camelus

Camelus dromedarius (The dromedary)

 World population and distribution

The dromedary covers a wide area of Saharan and sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, the Asian subcontinent, and Australia. Although not native to Australia, dromedaries were introduced to this country in the 1840's from Morocco, Oman, and in 1859-1907, from Pakistan and India. They are found now in a feral state in a wide area from Port Hedland in western Australia to Innamincke in southern Australia where their number is estimated at 200,000 head. The world population of dromedaries is estimated at 20 million head. However, this number may be far from realistic because of the constant change in dromedary herd constitution and the difficulty in operating a thorough census in the areas of the world where the dromedary exists. It is, however, important to point out that the trend in the last two decades is towards a decrease in the population in most of the countries.

Breeds and their characteristics

There are more than 50 types or breeds of camels identified today (Tables 1,2,3). Whether these types represent actual breeds, or are just variants of the same type of camel, remains to be demonstrated. The need for breed characterization and its importance for the preservation of genetic diversity has been stressed by many authors.^(8-10) Scientific techniques - such as DNA analysis - are being conducted in some countries and are likely to lead to a more precise definition of dromedary breeds in the near future.⁽¹⁶⁾ Nevertheless, any breed or type of dromedary can be placed in one of 3 major categories of animals: pack or work animals, dairy animals, and riding or racing animals. The reader is referred to more resources containing detailed information on these aspects of production in the dromedary.^{(12-15, 20-2)}
 

Dromedary types in Africa

The declared breeds or types of camels in Africa are presented in Table 1. Most of these types of dromedaries are identified according to regions or tribes and therefore do not constitute breeds as such. It is logical to assume that some of the breeds bearing different names for different countries are in fact the same.

Breeds and types of dromedaries in the Middle East.

In the Middle East, the number of breeds of dromedaries is relatively small (Table 2). This suggests that the breeds in this area of the world are more fixed and are well-identified according to their purpose. These breeds generally fall into one of the following categories: racing or riding type, dairy type, and working type.

The racing camel in the Middle East and particularly in the Gulf states is of utmost importance from the cultural and historic points of view. Racing camels are usually local strains of the Omani, Saudi, or imported Sudani type, or the product of their crosses. These types present specific characteristics that make them easy to identify from their phenotype (color, size, conformation) (Figures 1,2,3,4). The local racing camels in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are further divided into major families or strains: Soghan, Hamloul, Dhabiyan, M'sheihan (Figure 5,6,7,8).

Types and breeds of dromedaries in the Asian Subcontinent.

The Animal Genetic Diversity program at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)⁽²⁾ identifies several types of dromedaries in India and Pakistan such as Bikaneri, Jaisalmeri, Kutchi, Malvi, Marwari, Mewri, Mewati and Sindhi. Whether these are separate breeds or the same type with different local names remains to be investigated. In India, the Bikaneri and the Jaisalmeri are pretty well established as separate breeds and recognized through their anatomical and production characteristics as such by many authors.^(6-10)

Types and breeds of dromedaries in central Asia

Dromedaries in central Asia are usually heavier and belong to the packing/transportation or dairy types. In fact, many of these camels are crosses between the Bactrian and the dromedary (Table 3).

Production

Depending on the geographical area and the type of camel, the main productions are meat, fiber, milk and hide in addition to draft or transportation. Milk production of the dromedaries varies from 1000 to 9000 kg per lactation (Table 4, 5).^(3-5) The main factors affecting this production are the breed of camels, the production system, the nutritional status (quality of pasture) and the duration of lactation. Fiber production varies from 1.3 to 4.0 kg per animal per year (Table 6). Meat yield at slaughter varies according to sex and age of the animal from 32 to 40% (Table 7).

Camelus bactrianus

World population and distribution

The two-humped camel is limited to the Asian continent from China to central Asia with a very small number in northern India. The total world population of Bactrian camels is estimated at 2 million head (Figure 9,10,11.12).

Breeds and their characteristics

Several types of breeds are described in the literature, as they are for the dromedary, but no scientific work has established these breeds with certainty (Table 8).

Production

The main productions in the Bactrian camels are fiber, meat, and milk (Table 9, 10). In general, milk production is lower than that of the dromedary.
 

References

1.    Escobar, R. C. 1984. Animal Breeding and Production of American camelids. Lima, Peru: Talleres Graficos de ABRIL.
2.    FAO. 1982. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System (DAD-IS). Internet address: http//193.43.36.7:80/dad-is/, DAD-IS @ fao.org.
3.    Kohler Rollefson. I. 1992. The camel breeds of India in social and historical perspective. Animal Genetic Resources Information: 53-64.
4.    Kohler Rollefson. I. 1992. The Raika dromedary breeders of Rajasthan: a pastoral system in crisis. Nomadic Peoples: 74-83.
5.    Kohler Rollefson, I. 1993. About camel breeds: a reevaluation of current classification systems. Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics. 110:66-73.
6.    Kohler Rollefson. I. 1995. Patoralists: Stewards of livestock genetic diversity. Journal of Camel Practice and Research. 2:157-158.
7.    Kohler Rollefson, I., and H. S. Rathor. 1995. The Malvi Camel. Journal of Camel Practice and Research. 2:14-16.
8.    Ordonez, T. H. 1994. Llamas, llama production and llama nutrition in the Ecuador highlands. Journal of Arid Environments. 26:67-71.
9.    Schwartz, H. J. 1989. Productivity and utilisation of the one-humped camel (Camelus dromedarius) in Africa. Consultant Report to FAO, Rome and Berlin.
10.    Schwartz, H. J., R. Dolan, and A. J. Wilson. 1983. Camel production in Kenya and its constraints. I. Productivity. Trop. Anim. Health Prod. 15:169-179.
11.    Schwartz, H. J., and M. G. H. Walsh. 1990. Improving Reproductive Performance in the Dromedary:    Consequences to Production Systems. Proceedings of the Workshop 'Is it Possible to Improve the Reproductive Performance of the Camel?1 - Paris: 409-425.
12.    Schwartz, H. J.. A. J. Wilson. R. Dolan. J. O. Evans, and J. Fairhall. 1982. Produktionsleistungen von Kamelen (Camelus dromedarius) in ausgewahter gebieten Kenias. Prakt. Tierarzt. 63:964-969.
13.    Shereif, N. A.; and G. A. Alhadrami. 1996. Detection of genetic variation in racing camels using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique. Journal of Camel Practice and Research. 3:91-95.
14.    Stanley, H.. M. Kadwell, and J. Wheeler. 1994. Molecular evolution of the family Camelidae: a mitochondrial DNA study. Proc. Royal Soc. Lond. B. Biol. Sci. 256:1-6.
15.    Vidal-Rioja, L., L. Semorile, N. Bianchi, and J. Padron. 1987. DNA composition in South American camelids. I. Characterization and in situ hybridization of satellite DNA fractions. Genetica. 72:137-46.
16.    Vidal-Rioja, L.. A. Zambelli. and L. Semorile. 1994. An assessment of the relationships among species of Camelidae by satellite DNA comparisons. Hereditas. 121:283-90.
17.    Wardeh. M. F.. A. A. Zaied. H. S. Horier. M. F. Wardeh. R. T. Wilson, and A. A. Zaied. 1990. Camel breeds in Arab Africa. Proceedings The Arab Symposium On Camel Husbandry and Diseases and Methods of their Control. Alger. Algeria. 24-26 March 1990.
18.    Wilson. R. T. 1984. The camel. London. Longman. 223 pages.
19.    Wilson. R. T.. and D. Bourzat. 1988. Past, present and future research on the one-humped camel in Africa. J. Arid. Environ. 14:1-15.
20.    Zayed. A., G. Ghadari, and A. Chraiha. 1991. Camels in the Arab World. 1st Edition, University Omar Mokhtar, A1 Baida, Libya.