the dromedary as a pack and draught animal (presentation)

Faculty of Agriculture and Horticulture

Chair of Livestock Ecology

Prof. Dr. H. J. Schwartz

The dromedary (Camelus dromedarius) as a draught

and pack animal in semi-arid farming systems

H. J. Schwartz

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin



53rd Annual Meeting of EAAP, Cairo, 2002, Session H5.2




Distribution of the Worlds Dromedary Population

(Total world population 19 mil l ion, FAO Production Yearbook, 1995)

Africa

73,5%

Asia24,6%

Others1,9%

Somalia

43,8%

Sudan

20,5%

Mauretania

7,7%Others18,0%

Kenya

5,7%

Tschad

4,2%




% of total agricultural role

Species biomass by-

kg 0.75 milk meat products draught pack riding blood

Cattle 67 ++++ +++ ++ +++ + + +

Goats 11 + +++ ++

Sheep 9 + +++ ++

Camels 6 ++++ ++ ++ ++ +++ ++ +

Donkeys 3 ++ +++ ++

Horses 2 ++ ++ +++

Pigs 1 ++ ++

Mules 1 ++ +++ +++

The relative importance of different animal products in Sub-Saharan Africa

Source: John M.King; Livestock water needs in pastoral Africa in relation to forage and climate; ILCA

Research Report No. 7, Addis Ababa 1983




Present day uses for the pack and

draught capacity of the dromedary

•Traditional pastoral livestock systems

•Agricultural production systems

•Commercial transport and services

• Individual transport, sport and leisure

•Military and paramilitary uses




In traditional pastoral livestock systems the

transport capacity of the dromedary ensures

mobility within the system and secures

grazing management options




numbers of dromedaries per household

distance of settlement from water [km]

10

4

2

00

0 2 4 10 12




1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

Korr

Kargi

Distribution of permanent water

sources in the Western half of

Marsabit District, Kenya within a

10 km grid. The dark and light

green circles stand for 10 and 15

km distance from the water

source. 15 km is the maximum

feasible distance for daily

household water transport by

pack camel.




In agricultural production systems dromedaries

are used for various cultivation work, carrying

of produce, wheeled transport and drawing

water for irrigation from traditional deep wells




A domedary drawing water for

irrigation from a traditional well,

the depth is over 40 m in this

case




Comparative performance of donkeys, oxen, and domedaries

drawing water for irrigation from a traditional well

Species Absolute

strength

Working

speed

[km/h]

Working

time

[hrs/d]

Container

volume

[l]

Work

performance

[m³/hr]

1 Donkey 25 1,8 3 to 3.5 30 2 to 3

Pair of oxen 50 2 to 3 4 to 6 40 to 60 4 to 5

1 Dromedary 54 3 to 4 5 to 8 40 to 60 5 to 6




In the commercial sector the dromedary is

used for transport both as pack and draught

animal and for other services like powering

driving oil mills, pumps and water wheels




The dromedary is still widely used for riding as

a means of individual transport and it‘s use for

sport and leisure activities like racing and

trekking is slowly but steadily increasing in

connection with tourism.




Military and paramilitary uses, although

important in the past, are no longer in

demand, with the exception of the

occasional show-off during parades.




Thank you for your attention

the dromedary as a pack and draught animal (presentation)

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