Camel
milk: What possible importance can camel milk have
in the year 1981 in a world beset with a multitude
of problems? The answer to this is clear when we
consider that one of the biggest problems
confronting mankind today is malnourishment.
Camel milk can certainly play a far more
important role in the prevention of malnutrition
than it does today.Growing and raising foodstuffs
for the rapidly increasing human population is
especially precarious in the hot and arid zones of
the world - the very areas where the camel is one of
the few animals not only to survive, but also to
benefit man.
Before presenting data on milk production, both
quantity and quality, one must consider in detail
all the relevant information about the camel in
order to ascertain the full value that this animal
can play in human nutrition.
Camels, or the family of camels, the Camelidae, are
found throughout the world and all camels will be
mentioned when possible; however, this report deals
mainly with the one-humped dromedary, which is found
in the desert and semi-desert areas.
Milk is the main food obtained from a herd of
camels, (Dahl, 1979). The one-humped camel was
domesticated about 3000 B.C.E. in southern Arabia
(Bullet, 1975), mainly for its meat and milk
(Epstein, 1971). The camels were, and still are,
valued as riding, baggade and work animals, as well
as providers of hair and hides. In arid zones the
camel is a better provider of food than the cow,
which is severely affected by the heat, scarcity of
water and feed (Sweet, 1965).
Camels originated in North America when the land
masses were still joined (Leuner, 1963). These
animals were no larger than hares. Here they
remained from the upper Eocene throughout the
Tertiary period, into the Pleistocene epoch, a
period of 40 million years. Continued evolution
produced the very large American camels. From North
America, meanwhile, the animals migrated to other
parts of the world, finally disappearing from their
original area. The various types and breeds in the
camel family are probably a result of evolutionary
adaptation to the various environments to which the
animals were exposed.
Some of the camels migrated to the deserts and
semi-deserts of northern Africa and the Middle East.
Remains of camels have been found in old Palestine,
dating to 1800 B.C.E. Field (1979) considered that
further migration of camels in Africa was prevented
by their susceptibility to tsetseborne
trypanosomiasis. However, the camel has been
incriminated as the probable host which became
infected with Trypanosoma brucei in the northern
tsetse areas and spread the infection which evolved
to mechanically-transmitted T. evansi, throughout
northern Africa into Asia. These camels have
one-hump and long spindly legs.
The two-humped camel, the Bactrian, was domesticated
on the border of Iran and Turkmenistan and spread to
an area bordered by the Crimea, southern Siberia,
Mongolia and China. These animals are stockier than
the dromedary and covered by a thicker wool.
The new-world Camelidae are smaller versions of the
camels and live in the heights of the mountains in
South America.
All the members of the camel family are found in the
order of the Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates);
suborder: Tylopoda (pad-footed); family: Camelidae.
The old-world genus is the Camelus, having the two
species of the Bactrianus (two-humped) and
Dromedarius (one-humped). The new-world genus of the
Lama has three species, while the genus of Vicugna
has only one species.
Although they chew cud, camels differ from true
ruminants in a few anatomical features (Cloudley-Thompson,
1969). Adult camels have two incisor teeth in their
upper jaws; they lack an omasum, the third stomach
division of the ruminants, which is considered the
water reabsorbing portion of the stomach; they have
no gallbladder; and the hooves have been reduced to
claw-like toes, projecting beyond the pads. In
India, camel meat is not eaten by the Hindus (Simoons,
1961), nor by the Christian Copts of Egypt,
Zoroastrians of Iran, Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran,
Nosaioris of Syria, Ethiopians of Christian Faith
nor in Israel the camel is considered as being
unsuitable as a source of meat.
Within the arid regions the camel-breeding tribes
have maintained a dominant position over other
societies by virtue of their ability to exploit the
often poor grazing ranges (Sweet, 1965).
Camel-owning tribes are continually on the move,
looking for grazing and water for their animals (Elamin,
1979). They can wander over 1 000 km in a season.
The distance covered depends on the availability of
water and feed. With rapidly expanding urbanization,
these wanderings are causing clashes between
cultures and destroying the grazing areas of the
camels.
Because of its importance as a means of survival for
the desert dwellers, the camel often plays an
important role in the social and cultural heritage
of the tribes. For instance, in various cultures
(Hartley, 1979) ownership of a camel begins when a
male child is born. He is presented with a
femalecalf. The child's umbilical cord is placed in
a sac and tied around the neck of the camel. In
other societies the camel is used for attracting
wives or paying off “criminal” offences (Dickson,
1951).
Camels have been introduced by man into various
parts of the world, mainly as baggage animals for
the arid zones of the country. This happened in
Australia, where the camels escaped into the wild
and are now considered vermin (McKnight, 1969). In
Italy, Spain, South Africa and Texas in the USA
camels were also introduced as pack animals, but
they soon disappeared. Camels were introduced into
the Canary Islands from Morocco in 1402 (Buillet,
1975), where they are still in use in agriculture
and as beasts of burden.
In Sudan (El-Amin, 1979) there is at present one of
the largest populations of one-humped camels in the
world. They are found mainly in the arid and
semi-arid areas of the country, where the average
rainfall is less than 350 mm per year.
In the Horn of Africa (Hartley, 1979) the camel is
found in the arid and semi-arid rangelands in
Ethiopia, Djibuti, Somalia and Kenya. In these areas
water supplies range from abundant in the riverine
areas, to extreme aridity. In these areas the
inhabitants are mainly pastoral and the camels roam
according to the range conditions. In the dry season
the camels are watered once every 10–20 days,
compared with every 3–8 days for sheep and goats and
every 2–3 days for cattle. The movement of the
camels away from the living centres is divided
primarily into far-moving dry herds and the
closer-by milch animals.
The Boran of Ethiopia and Somalia rank their animals
as follows: lactating caws, dry cows, lactating
camels, dry camels, sheep and goats (Lewis, 1974).
The pastoral Somali nomads have only two types of
herding units. The first consists of the camels
herded by the young unmarried men, which sometimes
graze hundreds of kilometers from wells. The second
group of milch animals are herded by the family unit
of husband, wife, unmarried daughters and young
sons. During the rainy season, when feed is freely
available, the two herding units meet, and with both
milk and meat in abundance, collective rituals and
feasts take place.
For the Gabbra and Rendille tribes of northern
Kenya, the camel is still the most important
livestock (Sato, 1976; Torry, 1973). Much of their
culture revolves around the camel owing to the
animal's ability to survive the extreme aridity and
to supply milk, which is the staple diet of these
tribes.
In Pakistan, as well, there are areas with extremely
arid pastures in which the only livestock that can
produce milk, meat, wool and skins is the camel (Knoess,
1979). The camels are also valued as pack animals,
carrying up to 600 kg on their backs and are also
used for pulling carts.
In China, Mongolia and Russia the two-humped
Bactrian camel thrives. (Dong Wei, 1979). They are
mainly used as pack, riding and draught animals. The
wool is of some importance, reaching 1 500 tons per
year. Meat and milk are of lesser importance (Dong
Wei, 1981).
In South America the guanaco and vicugna are the
wild forms of the camel family (Bustinza Choque,
1979). The llama and alpaca have been domesticated.
These Camelidae are utilized mainly as pack animals,
but also supply meat, skin and fur. The South
American cameloids live in a semidesert habitat that
ranges from sea level to the Andean high country, at
elevations of 5 000 m or more.
The questions that must be answered are:
What makes the camel, particularly the one-humped
Arabian camel, so special? Or how is this animal
able to adapt so perfectly to his environment?
Can the natural traits of the animal be improved
upon for man's use?
If this animal can be of such benefit to man, why
hasn't it been more widely used up to now?
What is the composition of camel milk? How much milk
can it give? What is its fertility capability?
What does the camel eat?
The reason why the camel has not been more widely
used is given in the opening remarks of the
International Symposium on camels in Sudan,
organized by the International Foundation for
Science (El-Karouti, 1970). It was stated that “the
prejudice against the camel stems from a
misconception that it is of low economic value and
is synonymous to under-development”. It is
universally accepted that milk and meat for human
consumption in established communities are supplied
mainly by cattle, sheep and goats. This applies even
to arid zones, although it is actually the dromedary
which can survive and let alone producing milk and
meat for humans in these areas, while other animals
have difficulty in staying alive.
Thus, almost no research as to the capacity of the
camel to produce milk and meat under drought
conditions, in areas, or under conditions where
human nutrition is so precarious, has been done. As
former camel owners become sedentary, the camel
disappears. No thought is given to the ability of
this animal to produce food in severe drought
periods. In many places of the world the development
of infrastructure, especially roads, has caused the
camel to lose its value as a riding animal or beast
of burden. Motor transport can now reach most
outlying areas. However, in countries such as
Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, motor transport is
still extremely expensive and in those areas, which
are undeveloped and not suited for motor vehicles,
the camel is still a prized animal. The trends in
camel holding ca be seen in Table 1. Thus it can be
seen that in most countries the camel population is
declining. The present-day distribution of camels
shows that the limit of camel breeding does not pass
the 50 cm rain area (Mason, 1979). The Bactrian
camel is not found in temperatures over 21°C.
Research in physiology, endocrinology, husbandry,
various diseases and their control are among the
basic requirements from which further development
and reorientation of the camel industry can start.
While many aspects of camel anatomy, physiology and
diseases are well documented, knowledge of husbandry
is lagging far behind. Improved methods of breeding
and intensive husbandry have not been systematically
examined. The introduction of hardy plants into arid
areas for camel fodder is only in its embryo state.
The changes in shape and size of camels from their
original small size (Zeuner, 1963) were obviously
caused by interractions with their environments.
This is also true for the wide changes that have
been described for the various physiological
mechanism. The changes in normal physiological
responses to the environment not only allow the
animal to survive, but explain the ability of this
animal to supply nutrition for their young. This
supply cound be used for man, who is attempting to
live in these areas. Furthermore, basic knowledge of
breeding and lactation is a primary requirement for
planning improved husbandry and farming with these
animals.
The physiological mechanisms, which allow the camel
to survive periods of over two weeks without
drinking water and to eat the most unpalatable
plants, all have to do with the conservation of
water. The appropriate physiological mechanisms will
be discussed further. What is of interest now is
that severe desiccation is tolerated. Up to 30
percent of its body weight can be lost by loss of
water - amounts that would be fatal in the case of
other farm animals or even man (Schmidt-Nielsen,
1964). Moreover, this loss can be replenished in a
matter of minutes (Yagil et al., 1974). The camel
has the lowest water-turnover of all animals
(Macfarlane, 1977) and is able to regulate water and
salt uptake from the colon and their excretion from
the kidneys (Yagil and Etzion, 1979). Camels do not
need to sweat to lower body temperature, thus
conserving water (Schmidt-Nielsen, 1964). The camel
increases its body temperature from 34°C in the
early morning to over 41°C in the late afternoon, at
which time the environment cools greatly. Thus the
camel stores its heat during the day and cools off
by conduction and convection in the evening. The
water-deprived camel reduces its metabolism
(Schmidt-Nielsen et al., 1967; Yagil et al., 1975)
which also conserves water.
Together with the examples of physiological
adaptation mentioned above, there are also
behavioral adaptations. These consist mainly of
presenting the smallest possible surface area to the
rays of the sun (Ingram and Mount, 1975) and by
being less active in the heat of the day. Even the
covering of the camel changes from a wool in the
winter to a sleek shiny reflecting hair in the
summer. Equatorial camels do not shed their hair,
but maintain a smooth reflecting coat throughout the
year. The hump does not serve as a water reservoir,
nor solely as an energy reserve, but its greatest
use is that being a concentration of body fat it
leaves the subcutaneous tissues virtually fat-free,
thus allowing for an efficient cooling to a
relatively cooler environment (Cloudley-Thompson,
1969).
The future of the camel lies in the exploitation of
the milk and meat producing capabilities in areas
where perennial drought conditions cause many human
deaths each summer. In addition, the interaction
between livestock and vegetation will decide the
degree of continued desert encroachment or
rehabilitation.
Table 1. World
camel population (millions) *
|
1978 |
1969 – 1971 |
|
Bactrian |
|
|
|
China |
0.6 – 1.04 |
1.15 |
|
Mongolia |
0.62 |
0.64 |
|
U.S.S.R. |
0.23 |
0.25 |
|
|
0.91 – 1.89 |
|
2.04 |
Dromedaries |
|
|
|
North East Africa: |
|
|
|
Somalia |
5.4 |
2.5 |
|
Sudan |
2.9 |
1.6 |
|
Ethiopia |
1.0 |
0.9 |
|
Kenya |
0.6 |
0.4 |
|
|
9.9 |
|
5.4 |
West Africa: |
|
|
|
Mauritania |
0.7 |
0.1 |
|
Chad |
0.4 |
0.1 |
|
Niger |
0.4 |
0.2 |
|
Mali |
0.2 |
0.1 |
|
W. Sahara, Nigeria |
|
|
|
Senegal, Upper Volta |
0.1 |
- |
|
|
1.8 |
|
0.5 |
North Africa: |
|
|
|
Tunisia |
0.2 |
0.2 |
|
Algeria |
0.1 |
0.1 |
|
Egypt |
0.1 |
0.1 |
|
Libya |
0.1 |
0.3 |
|
Morocco |
0.02 |
0.2 |
|
|
0.5 |
|
1.0 |
|
1978 |
|
149 – 1950 |
Asia: |
|
|
|
India |
1.2 |
0.6 |
|
Pakistan |
0.8 |
0.5 |
|
Afghanistan |
0.3 |
0.3 |
|
Iraq |
0.2 |
0.5 |
|
Saudi Arabia |
0.1 |
0.3 |
|
Iran |
0.03 |
0.6 |
|
S. Arabian & Gulf States |
0.2 |
0.2 |
|
E. Med. countries |
0.05 |
0.2 |
|
|
2.9 |
|
3.2 |
To be Continue
Courtesy: Pakagri.blogspot
|
Pakissan.com;
|