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Herbivores Animals
Camels and camelids (including alpacas, vicuñas, guanacos and llamas)
Camels and camelids (including alpacas, vicuñas, guanacos and llamas)
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Camels and camelids (including alpacas, vicuñas, guanacos and llamas)
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The national animal of the UAE is the Arabian or white oryx (Oryx leucoryx). Even if the oryx was chosen for the purpose of conservation, this may surprise you, because one animal that comes to mind when talking about the Arabian Peninsula or the Middle East is the camel, particularly the one-humped dromedary or Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius). Given the camel's ability to travel large distances, without having to drink water for at least 3 days even in hot circumstances, it was a preferred beast of burden for Arabs or Middle Easterners for travelling large distances across the harsh deserts of the area, besides the first European immigrants to Australia, who took along with them Asian cameleers to help them explore the continent.
An 1898 drawing of travellers in the Australian Bush being given directions by Aborigines. Credit: Getty  *This image is copyright of its original author Nowadays, with modern transport, Arabs, Middle Easterners, Asians and Australians don't need camels (whether single-humped dromedaries or double-humped Bactrians (Camelus bactrianus; as opposed to the wild Camelus ferus)) to travel large distances, but they nevertheless retain their agricultural and cultural significance, besides being useful for tourism, similar to cattle and horses put together: https://gulfnews.com/uae/camels-a-key-pa...e-1.603548 A traditional camel market in Al Ain City in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, located on the UAE's eastern border with Oman, approximately 100 km (62 miles) south of Dubai and 100 km east of Abu Dhabi City, which draws traders from places like Afghanistan, Pakistan and Somalia, and customers from both the UAE and neighbouring Oman: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/a...index.html, https://www.flickr.com/photos/ciamabue/7088179711/ Credit: Jon Connell Camel racing in Dubai: https://comingsoon.ae/sports-leisure/cam...ing-dubai/  *This image is copyright of its original author Camel milk by The Camel Milk Co. Australia: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48935371  *This image is copyright of its original author Memphis Tours, Egypt: https://www.memphistours.com/Egypt/Excur...amids-area  *This image is copyright of its original author What's more, the camel's relationship with humans, whether for friendly or unfriendly, stretches back thousands of years, as evidenced by an archaeological site in the remote western region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, which was discovered in 2008. This site is in the paleontological Baynunah Formation, dating to the Upper Miocene, and it was where humans of the Late Stone Age used flint to massacre a group of camels gathered around a lake about 6,000 years ago, when the Arabian Peninsula had more vegetation and fauna than now, somewhat resembling Africa. Considering the great age of the site, the Department of Culture and Tourism of Abu Dhabi reckoned that the camel was first domesticated in what is now the UAE: https://tcaabudhabi.ae/DataFolder/report...df#page=27, https://abudhabiculture.ae/en/discover/p...camel-site, https://www.emirates247.com/news/emirate...1-1.647488 Baynunah camel-kill site; credit: WAM  *This image is copyright of its original author
Forward from here, considering the importance of the camel to deserts, one might consider an image of camels surrounded by natural greenery, particularly in the Arabian Peninsula, to be unsual, but it's possible in the Dhofari mountainous region of southern Oman:
Dromedaries in the Dhofar Mountains near Salalah; credit: Omar AV  *This image is copyright of its original author Wadi Darbat near Salalah; credit: Juozas Šalna  *This image is copyright of its original author Credit: A1000  *This image is copyright of its original author In Al-Qara Mountains, a subrange of the Dhofar; credit: Patano  *This image is copyright of its original author
@BorneanTiger :
About #3: very spectacular and impressive !  Guanaco are much more swift than the other camelids... (11-20-2019, 03:08 PM)BorneanTiger Wrote: Female South American puma takes on a guanaco about 3 times her weight: But unfortunately for the dromedary, which is more adapted for surviving in the hot and harsh conditions of deserts ... 7 Asiatic lions attacking a dromedary in Gir Forest, south of Thar Desert: A famous diorama from the 19th Century showing "Barbary lions" attacking a camel with an Arab courier, the mannequin of which was (eerily) discovered to have a real human skull with teeth, apparently from a member of the San community that inhabits Southern Africa, including the Kalahari region: http://www.digitaljournal.com/tech-and-s...cle/484609, https://www.ancient-origins.net/artifact...lay-007925  *This image is copyright of its original author
(02-02-2020, 01:26 AM)LazarLazar Wrote: As u guys can see from my posts I LOVE WILD BOVINES Perhaps unsurprisingly, the camel is my favourite big herbivore.
Dromedaries in the snow in the region of the Midian Mountains (part of the Sarat range which extends into Yemen) of northwest Saudi Arabia, near the border with Jordan: https://www.indy100.com/article/saudi-ar...eo-9284681, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-15/s...m/11871048
ABC News on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ABC/status/121735657...frame.html  *This image is copyright of its original author Reuters:  *This image is copyright of its original author
This isn't the Dhofari region of southern Oman, but Al-Batinah North Governorate (which borders the UAE, and would thus have some of the Hajar Mountains), in a place called 'Liwa', after heavy rains in the region (including the UAE, as I mentioned here): https://timesofoman.com/article/2704433/...9TkV5c9g7s
 *This image is copyright of its original author
Bolivia and Paraguay unite to protect critically endangered guanacos
 *This image is copyright of its original author The guanaco (Lama guanicoe), the spindly, wild forebear of the llama, ranges across a broad reach of western and southern South America. While the species as a whole is not considered threatened with extinction, low numbers in Bolivia and Paraguay and continued declines there as its habitat is razed for agriculture cloud its future in both countries. But a proposed protected habitat corridor in Bolivia is giving conservationists hope that guanacos may make it there after all. While once ranging across a large portion of Bolivia, fewer than 200 guanacos live in Bolivia today, according to the most recent estimates. “In Bolivia, the guanaco is categorized as being critically endangered, that is, a step from extinction,” said biologist Catalina Rivadeneira, coordinator of the innovation laboratory at Natura Foundation Bolivia. “This is due to the small number of individuals. Researchers performed calculations between 2008 and 2011 and estimated that the guanaco population was below 200 individuals in the entire Bolivian Chaco.”  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Researchers estimate fewer than 200 guanacos live in the Bolivian Chaco. Image courtesy of Natura Foundation Bolivia.The Chaco is an ecoregion of primarily dry forests and savannas shared between Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. Rivadeneira said the guanaco was considered extinct in Bolivia’s portion of the Andean plateau, which lies to the west of the country’s Chaco region; however, biologist Ángela Nuñez recorded a few individuals there in 2006. Still, the bulk of Bolivia’s scant guanaco population is found in its Chaco region. But guanacos may not be found there for much longer. One of the most deforested areas of the planet, the Chaco’s sparse forests are disappearing at a quick clip as land is cleared for for soy plantations and cattle ranges and wildfires started by farmers and fueled by climate change rage out of control. Across the border in Paraguay, guanacos have been very nearly relegated to memory. According to the IUCN, there may be as few as 20 animals left in the country, which lists the species as critically endangered. *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author The Bolivian Chaco. Image courtesy of Natura Foundation Bolivia.María Teresa Vargas, director of Natura Foundation Bolivia, says that the main threat to the guanaco is habitat loss due to agriculture. She adds that poaching has also taken a big toll on populations in Bolivia and Paraguay. To keep tabs on Paraguay’s sparse population, researchers conducted a monitoring project using camera traps in Médanos de Chaco National Park, which lies right over the Bolivian border. The project is a joint effort between NGOs Guyra Paraguay and Natura Foundation Bolivia. Thirteen species have been photographed by the project’s camera traps – among them the guanaco. “This is the first record of the guanaco that we have in the Paraguayan Chaco,” said Viviana Rojas, coordinator of the species conservation program at Guyra Paraguay. Other species photographed include the jaguar (Panthera onca), giant anteater (Mymecophaga trydactyla), puma (Puma concolor), pampas fox (Lycalopex gymnocercus), Geoffroy’s cat (Leopardus geoffroyi), and collared peccary (Pecari tajacu). *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author This guanaco is one of very few that are hanging on in Paraguay. Image courtesy of Guyra Paraguay.*This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author A jaguar captured by camera traps in Médanos de Chaco National Park. Photo courtesy of Guyra Paraguay.Rojas said that monitoring went through the end of 2019, with around 1.5 million images captured. “The objective of the project is to create an action plan with Bolivia to conserve this species,” she said. Catalina Rivadeneira, of Natura Foundation Bolivia, said that the camera traps did not photograph any guanacos on the Bolivian side of the park. However, she added that she did see three individuals in an unprotected area there during a separate trip to the region. This unprotected area may not be unprotected for much longer, however. Together with NGOs, the Guaraní autonomous government has proposed creating a protected area called the Área de Vida del Guajukaka (Spanish and Guaraní for “Area of Life for Guanacos”), which would cover 285,000 hectares (approximately 704,000 acres) within the municipality of Charagua Iyambae. The Área de Vida del Guajukaka will be the fourth reserve established in the Guaraní autonomous municipality and will be located to the south of Kaa-Iya del Gran Chaco National Park and Integrated Management Natural Area. Other reserves in the area include Otuquis National Park and Integrated Management Natural Area and Ñembi Guasu Conservation Area. Together, these four protected areas would form a continuous habitat corridor. *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author The Área de Vida del Guajukaka and three other protected areas in the municipality of Charagua would form a continuous habitat corridor. Image courtesy of Natura Foundation Bolivia. *This image is copyright of its original author *This image is copyright of its original author Satellite data show large areas of deforestation over the past two decades in the Chaco regions of Bolivia and Paraguay. Last year’s heavy fire season was particularly destructive, but satellite imagery shows agricultural expansion also displaced forest. Conservationists hope the proposed Área de Vida del Guajukaka will help preserve what remains of Bolivia’s Chaco. Source: GLAD/UMD, accessed through Global Forest WatchThe project is in its final phase of consultation with the 28 native communities and 76 ranchers that own land inside the proposed reserve, according to Rivadeneira. Ranchers must agree to cede portions of their land to the reserve, and communities must agree to not clear the land once it’s protected. “We are receiving the actas comunales[records from communal assemblies] in which they indicate if they agree with the proposal,” Rivadeneira told Mongabay. Vargas says that establishing the Área de Vida del Guajukaka in coordination with communities and private agricultural landowners represents a big step forward for the creation of conservation spaces. “We are no longer back in the time when protected areas were defined from a desk,” Vargas said. “We want the commitment of all the actors who make up this area.” José Ávila is responsible for coordination and planning for the autonomous government of Charagua Iyambae. He says the Guaraní people have decided to set aside 70% of their autonomous municipality for conservation, with the other 30% reserved for economic activities. “The municipality of Charagua in Bolivia still has the best-conserved ecosystem of Chaco forest, as opposed to what is happening in the Paraguayan, Argentinian, and Brazilian Chaco,” Ávila said. “This is why protecting it is important to ensure the conservation of the species.”
What I showed above (with the exception of the guanaco (Lama guanicoe)) was the one-humped dromedary (Camelus dromedarius), also known as the Arabian camel, which is present in northern parts of Africa, south-western parts of Asia, and in Australia as an introduced animal. The other 2 species in the Old World camel genus (Camelus) are the (domestic) Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus, present in central, western and eastern parts of Asia, partly sympatric with the dromedary) and the Wild Bactrian camel (Camelus ferus, present in remote parts of northwest China and Mongolia). Despite their names, and the fact that they have 2 humps, the latter 2 are different species, with the domestic Bactrian camel having a different ancestor to the extant wild Bactrian camel, similar to the relationship between say domestic dogs and wolves, or domestic and wild horses: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4171754/, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6899786/
Domestic Bactrian camel (C. bactrianus) at Shanghai Zoo, by J. Patrick Fischer  *This image is copyright of its original author Wild Bactrian camel (C. ferus) in Xinjiang Province, China, on the Southern Silk Road between Yarkand and Khotan, by John Hill:  *This image is copyright of its original author
Camels seem to be the biggest and most dangerous of the bunch.
A Camel managed to decapitate a man with a bite. "It took over 25 people to calm down an aggravated camel who bit off its owner's head in Rajasthan's Barmer district on Saturday, after being left in the sun the whole day with its limbs tied up. The owner, Urjaram of Mangta village, had forgotten about having left his camel bound in the heat while entertaining guests at his house. TOI reports that when he went to untie it in the evening, the annoyed animal attacked him. "The animal lifted him by the neck and threw him on to the ground, chewed the body and severed the head," said a villager named Thakara Ram. The camel is said to have attacked Urjaram in the past as well." https://www.indiatoday.in/fyi/story/came...2016-05-25 A Camel bit a man so hard that his eye popped out. "Animal bite injuries vary according to the geographical distribution, behavior, and anatomy of animals. Human injuries caused by camel bites are relatively rare. They are more common during the rutting season where male camels become more aggressive [1]. Due to the complex mechanism of camel bites, it is usually associated with high morbidity. The head and neck sustain frequent and severe injuries [2]. Injuries may involve facial wounds, skull fractures, intracranial bleeding, and cervical neurovascular injuries [1,2]. Herein, we report a unique case of a patient who sustained multiple camel bites to his face and neck that resulted in left eye evisceration, parotid duct injury, and facial nerve injury. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of globe rupture caused by a camel bite. The mechanism of camel bite injuries is complex. This includes penetrating and crushing injuries, by the camel's sharp teeth and strong jaws, and blunt injuries when victims are picked up, shaken and thrown by the camels [1,3]. Globe injury caused by a camel bite has not been reported before. Our patient experienced repeated bites that resulted in multiple facial fractures and deep structure injuries involving his left eye and cheek. The camel deeply fixed its jaw in the patient's face using grinding movement that destroyed surrounding bones and intraocular contents and caused globe rupture of the left eye." source: Balac, Korana, et al. "Globe rupture caused by a camel bite." Trauma case reports 21 (2019): 100202. You can check the images of the man badly injured, but be warned since they are pretty graphic. Here is a Camel still putting a good fight despite being restrained by a rope and having a slit neck. The slit is for Qurbani, an Islamic ritual of slaughtering animals for Eid al-Adha.  *This image is copyright of its original author Here is a Camel kicking a man despite having its leg tied for Qurbani.  *This image is copyright of its original author Now imagine how dangerous a Camel is for the likes of Big Cats, Wolves and Bears without any restraint. They are probably more dangerous than most animals apart from the Bovines and the Pachyderms. (03-03-2021, 10:24 AM)Styx38 Wrote: Camels seem to be the biggest and most dangerous of the bunch. Compared to felids, canids and bears, humans are at a disadvantage: |
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