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Mar. 23, 2005 One of the orders of the class Mammalia is called Artiodactyla, and is divided into ten families. The family Camelidae are further subdivided into three genera: Camelus, Lama and Vicugna. The genus Camelus contains two species: Camelus dromedarius (dromedaries); and Camelus bactrianus (Bactrian camels). The genera Lama and Vicugna together include four species, which are llamas, vicuñas, alpacas and guanacos. Camelids (English for Latin Camelidae) appeared about 45,000,000 years ago, in the Eocene Epoch, in North America, which explains the presence of the smaller species in South America, whither they must have migrated. Camels also migrated to Asia, where they continue right to the present, while they died out in North America thousands of years ago. Today, there are 14,000,000 dromedaries (one-humped camels) in Africa and Southwestern Asia, all living in domestication, and there are about 1,500,000 Bactrian camels (two-humped camels) in Asia, also in domestication. Only 1000 to 2000 Bactrians remain in the wild state, and so they are reckoned a threatened species. In 1998, I took a train across the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, where I saw several small herds of Bactrian camels, not realizing at the time that these were wild herds. In 1990 and 1991, living in Egypt, in the Nile Delta, I saw no camels at all. Perhaps in the desert parts of Egypt one would encounter camels. Likewise, on a bus ride through the Andes in the spring of 2004, I was disappointed in my hopes of seeing alpacas. llamas, vicuñas and guanacos. Perhaps I will yet, as I am again in South America. The date of the domestication of dromedary camels is a hotly debated issue, believe it or not. Camels are mentioned several times in the Book of Genesis, particularly in connection with the legendary figure, Abraham, who was supposed to have lived around 1800 BC. Apparently, some scholars maintain that camels were domesticated only around 1200 BC, and cite their mention in Genesis as an anachronism. And you can be certain that herds of Jewish and Christian scholars have done all they can to refute that contention, as if proving camels had been domesticated by 2500 BC would prove the Book of Genesis to be an historical document rather than a mere collection of tall tales. At any rate, dromedary camels rose to their apogee as a means of transportation with the rise of Islam. Bactrian camels were domesticated around 2500 BC. Another curiosity concerning these amazing beasts of burden is that the Bible specifically prohibits eating camel meat. Camel meat is thus said not to be "kosher" (proper). But the Qur'an allows camel meat to be eaten. Thus camel meat is "halal" (permissible). To be kosher, an animal must chew a cud and have cloven hooves. The camel does indeed chew a cud and have cloven hooves, but perhaps the cleavage is not sufficient. I have never eaten camel, but I wouldn`t hestitate to do so. They look as if they'd make great meat. Bactrian camels, in addition to having two humps, have shaggy coats, and so look larger, sturdier and more handsome than dromedaries, and they must be remarkable to winter in the Mongolian desert, with temperatures dropping to 50 below zero. But the truly amazing camels are the dromedaries, known as "ships of the desert". A mature dromedary, weighing about 1500 pounds, can carry as much as 1000 pounds, but usually is loaded with only 300 to 400 pounds. They can go up to a week without eating or drinking, losing as much as one-third their weight in the process. Their stomachs are especially suited to distension, so that camels can drink 20 to 30 gallons of water at once. They gallop at 12 mph, which comes out to a 5-minute mile. In certain parts of the world, camel fights and camel races are held for entertainment. Camels can also swim. Bactrian camels are so called because they were thought to have originated in Bactria, as Afghanistan was called in ancient times, but it is more likely that they arose, as a separate species, in the locale where they are found today, Mongolia. "Dromedary" comes from a Greek word meaning "for the road". The Oxford English Dictionary is a little ambiguous on the etymology of the word "camel", mentioning that it is from a Semitic language, Phoenician or Hebrew. The Hebrew word is "gimel", and the Arabic word is "jamal", sometimes pronounced "gamal". I could never fathom the origin of Russian "vyerblyud" and Chinese "luotou", both of which mean "camel". An attempt to introduce camels in the US was made by Jefferson Davis, the Secretary of War, in 1857, when 77 camels were imported to form the US Camel Corps, operating in the Mojave Desert of California, Arizona and New Mexico. Apparently, they were doing quite well, carrying 600 to 800 pounds 25 miles a day, while subsisting on brushwood. They frightened the horses and mules that accompanied them however. Still the experiment might have worked if it had not been for the outbreak of the Civil War. Of course, it was the same Jefferson Davis who would become President of the Confederacy. Camels were introduced into Australia in 1840 to do backbreaking work. Today there are as many as 200,000 camels on the Island Continent, mostly in desert regions. ------------ About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non-fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far. I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents. Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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