Almost every person with the word "camel" imagines an endless desert and a leisurely caravan. For thousands of years, laden animals have walked through uninhabited open spaces, connecting the different ends of the world. Only the speed of a camel determined the timing of the delivery of goods. For most, the speedy possibilities, at first glance, of very clumsy animals will be a revelation.
Camels
More recently, just half a century ago, camels were the basis of the economy of the nomadic peoples of the Arabian deserts. Powerful animals overcame the transport-free sands without any problems, delivering the nomads everything they needed. For economic purposes, widely used (in some regions of the world and now use) two types:
- Dromedaries (single humped). Widely distributed on the African continent - from the northern regions to the equator, on the Arabian Peninsula (UAE, Yemen and other countries up to India), in Central Asia (Afghanistan, Iran, Kalmykia, Mongolia, Pakistan). Camels came to Australia with immigrants in the 19th century. The total number of livestock is approaching 19 million. There are no more wild dromedaries.
- Bactrians (two-humped). These representatives of the corpus callosum as livestock inhabit the entire territory of Asia Minor, the north of China, Manchuria. Wild representatives of the two-humped can be found in southeastern Mongolia, in the Gobi desert, in western China, in the area of the dried-up salt lake Lobnor. Externally, wild camels are distinguished by the absence of pectoral, ulnar and knee calluses.
The light, long-legged one-humped dromedary runs quite quickly. The maximum speed of a camel in a critical situation can reach 65 km / h. Bactrians are heavier and “accelerate” to 60 km / h.
Of the many artificially bred hybrids, kama has the highest loading capacity. The hybrid of the llama and dromedary is fast enough and hardy for use in hard-to-reach mountain areas.
Stroke feature
The body of a camel has a format index of 80-90% (the ratio of body length to height). It looks like a rectangle standing on the short side. The center of gravity is high, and the body is less stable than the ox or horse. The natural pace for the animal is considered a step, amble and gallop.
With a leisurely caravan movement in steps, all limbs work separately. He relies on one camel, pushes another, pushes the third forward, raises the fourth. What speed a camel can develop at the same time depends on the load.
Acceleration of the step leads to the fact that the camel almost simultaneously brings forward the left limbs, then the right. With an increase in agility, he finally switches to amble. In this case, there is no hanging phase characteristic of a common trot in ungulates. Turning into a gallop, the animal tilts its head and cranes its neck, it looks like a gallop of artiodactyls. A camel can gallop from any foot.
Working use
It’s not only the camels' passing through the sand and dunes that makes people use them as a vehicle. The very low cost of such transport also plays a role. The animal eats what grows in the desert, drinks in parking lots where there is water. They can withstand long crossings of several tens of kilometers with decent speed (for total off-road):
- loaded animal - up to 4.5 km / h;
- without cargo - up to 5.5 km / h.
Under the rider, a camel can travel up to 100 km in a day, moving a rover with a speed of 12 km / h. The speed of a camel cannot be high for a long time. Animals gallop rarely and tire quickly. You don’t have to wait for special agility from them, all their movements are leisurely and measured. In many countries of the world they prefer to use bactrian or hybrid camels as pack animals.
Ancient traditions of the peoples of the world
The peoples, one way or another connected with camels, used animals for entertainment. Camel running speed allowed to arrange races on them. On the Arabian Peninsula, the Bedouins, gathering for their holidays, organized races among their pets. Usually 2-3 riders took part in the race, the distance did not exceed 3-4 kilometers. There are traditions of camel racing both in Mongolia and in distant Australia.
Camel race
After the oil boom and the rapid industrial development of the UAE, camels lost their relevance. The government of the country, wishing to preserve the original traditions of its people, paid special attention to camel racing. Today, there are about two dozen specially built camel running structures.
Numerous breeding farms breed animals, focusing on breeding on the speed of a camel. Training centers work. Previously, children took part in the race as riders, but at the beginning of the century a law was passed prohibiting the participation of people under the age of 15 in competitions. “Weighting" the riders led to a decrease in the speed of the camel. The way out was found. Robots were planted on animals. Cars are controlled remotely. Owners are allowed to accompany the animals along the track, cheering them.
In one race take part from 15 to 70 goals. The distance can be from 4 to 10 km. Very strict rules for age selection. Only one-year-olds can compete from one to eight years, and there are no restrictions on the basis of gender. More often females run, they are easier to train and not as stubborn as males.
The development of the camel racing industry is stimulated not only by the full support of the state. Sponsors are attracted, providing participants not only with millions of bonuses, but also with expensive gifts, cars, and collection weapons. Having a running dromedary is considered prestigious, because among the breeders of camels and the Prince of Dubai, Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum.
