Camel (Photo by Jessie Cohen)
Michael H. Robinson - Director, NZP
Camels are one of the more familiar exotic animals, one that many of us first encounter as children. As a youngster, some of us may even have been perched by watchful parents on the back of a camel for a ride. Few people, though, recognize the traditions and history behind that first tentative children's ride. Just imagine the ancestors of these camels that trod past the azure and gold mosaics of Timur's Samarkand, the thick clouds of dust obscuring the noisy camel markets of Central Asia, and the precious carpets and brocades packed on the backs of camels as they journeyed in caravans along the Silk Route, bearing the splendors of Asia to Western markets. This charming figurine of a Bactrian camel calf produced by Lenox gives me an opportunity to share some of that story.
Interestingly, the camel family originated and evolved in North America, where camels are now extinct. About 2 to 3 million years ago, ancestors of today's camels migrated to South America, where their descendants, llamas, alpacas, guanacos, and vicunas, still live. Another part of the family migrated to Asia, where they evolved into what we know today as camels.
Camels are divided into two species, the dromedary, or one-humped camel, which once roamed wild in the deserts of North Africa and Arabia but now exists only in a domesticated state; and the Bactrian camel, native to Central Asia, where a small number still lives in the wild stretches of the Gobi Desert. The Bactrian camels are distinguished most noticeably by their two humps. Their coat is darker and woollier and they have shorter legs than the dromedary. Although zoologists once thought the Bactrian camels of the Gobi were feral (domesticated camels that escaped and established themselves in the desert), scientists now believe they are truly wild. Unfortunately, despite the creation of a preserve, their numbers are very limited, probably fewer than 1,000, and they are considered endangered. In contrast, a large population of the domesticated Bactrian camel still exists.
Bactrian camels are a excellent example of an animal that has adapted well to its environment. They are able to survive on the arid Asian steppes because of the biological strategies that enable them to cope with the severe temperature changes common to the Central Asia. Camels can graze on a wide range of plants and thorny vegetation that other mammals avoid. Most striking is their ability to survive long periods without water-a characteristic that humans recognized as useful and used for their own purposes. The camel's body conserves water by producing dry feces and concentrated urine. Body temperature may fluctuate by as much as 57 degrees Fahrenheit during the course of a day, which enables the animal to minimize water loss due to sweating. Although a camel may look scrawny and emaciated after a long, dry spell and its humps may become flaccid and flop to one side, it fills out quickly as soon as it gets water. In fact, a thirsty camel may drink up to 40 gallons in ten minutes. Its humps serve as storagefacilities for body fat, so the camel can survive the grueling journeys across the desert where food is not readily found. Built-in protection against blowing desert sands include the camel's long eyelashes which protect the eyes and nostrils that can be closed during sand storms. Even the camel's nasal cavities help to reduce water loss by moistening inhaled air. The thick coat of fur and underwool provide warmth during cold desert nights and help insulate against the burning mid-day sun.
Just as the bison played a central role in the lives of the American Indians of the Great Plains of this continent, the camel has been vital in the lives of the various peoples living in a vast region that stretches across North Africa and the Middle East into Central Asia and China. In contrast to the bison, the camel was domesticated by humans, who were able to exploit the animal's superb adaptations to inhospitable environments for their own use. The Bactrian camel was probably domesticated before 2500 BC in the plateaus of northern Iran and southwestern Turkestan. From there domestication spread east to Iraq, India, and China. Not only were camels used for pack animals and transportation, but their hair provided fiber for a fine felt, their milk and meat sustained humans, and dried manure was (and still is) an invaluable source of fuel on the steppe and desert areas where timber is not available.
Certainly, as long as the camel is able to play an important role in the daily life of so many varied people, it will continue to flourish as a valued domesticated animal. However, even though the domesticated population of the Bactrian camel seems fairly well assured, it is important that the wild population be preserved as well in order to retain as much genetic diversity as possible. I hope you will add this calf to your collection as a reminder of the efforts being made to preserve this species whose history has become so intertwined with our own.