Camels have long been known as the ships of the desert but without the hardy Bactrians, trade along the silk road would have been sunk.
Bactrian camels were the heavy movers of the Silk Road able to endure high mountains, cold steppes and inhospitable deserts. They have been used as pack animals for millennia but also are useful as mounts and as sources of milk, meat and wool. The fact they can endure extreme hot and cold and travel long periods of time without water has made them ideal caravan animals.
Found primarily in Central and East Asia, they are adapted to cold regions, coping with temperatures of -29°C (-20°F), and have relatively thin, short legs and heavy bodies. They can drink salt water and swim for short distances.
Bactrian camels have two humps and two coats of hair. The long, woolly outer coat varies from brown to beige and may reach 30 centimetres in length in winter. The animals have a mane and beardlike hair on their throat. Their broad, calloused feet are adapted for walking on sandy terrain and snow, also coping with rocks and ice. Adults may exceed three meters in length, stand two meters at the top of the hump and weigh more than 700 kilos (1500 lbs) and are capable of carrying 270 kilos (600 lbs).
The humps store energy in the form of fat and can reach a height of half a meter (18 inches) and individually hold as much as 45 kilos (100 lbs). A camel can survive for weeks without food by drawing on the fat from the humps for energy. The humps shrink, go flaccid and droop when a camel doesn’t get enough to eat and reabsorbs the fat that keeps the humps erect.
Found primarily in Central and East Asia, they are adapted to cold regions, coping with temperatures of -29°C (-20°F), and have relatively thin, short legs and heavy bodies. They can drink salt water and swim for short distances.
Bactrian camels have two humps and two coats of hair. The long, woolly outer coat varies from brown to beige and may reach 30 centimetres in length in winter. The animals have a mane and beardlike hair on their throat. Their broad, calloused feet are adapted for walking on sandy terrain and snow, also coping with rocks and ice. Adults may exceed three meters in length, stand two meters at the top of the hump and weigh more than 700 kilos (1500 lbs) and are capable of carrying 270 kilos (600 lbs).
The humps store energy in the form of fat and can reach a height of half a meter (18 inches) and individually hold as much as 45 kilos (100 lbs). A camel can survive for weeks without food by drawing on the fat from the humps for energy. The humps shrink, go flaccid and droop when a camel doesn’t get enough to eat and reabsorbs the fat that keeps the humps erect.
Bactrian camels can go a week without water and a month without food. A thirsty camel can drink 100 to 110 litres (26 to 29 gallons) of water in ten minutes. For protections against sandstorms, Bactrian camels have two sets of eyelids and eyelashes. The extra eyelids can wipe sand like windshield wipers. Their nostrils can shrink to a narrow slit to keep out blowing sand.
Able to maintain a speed of about five kilometres per hour or a smidge over 3 miles per hour, they produce five kilos (11 lbs) of wool, 600 litres (130 gallons) of milk, and 250 kilos (550 lbs) of dung every year.
Camels can maintain their carrying capacity over long distances in dry conditions, eating only scrub and thorn bushes. When they drink though, they do so copiously so caravan routes needed to include rivers or wells at regular intervals.
The camel provided a level of economic efficiency for transporting goods, not requiring the kinds of roads or support network needed by other transport animals and were consequently indispensable along the Silk Road.
Able to maintain a speed of about five kilometres per hour or a smidge over 3 miles per hour, they produce five kilos (11 lbs) of wool, 600 litres (130 gallons) of milk, and 250 kilos (550 lbs) of dung every year.
Camels can maintain their carrying capacity over long distances in dry conditions, eating only scrub and thorn bushes. When they drink though, they do so copiously so caravan routes needed to include rivers or wells at regular intervals.
The camel provided a level of economic efficiency for transporting goods, not requiring the kinds of roads or support network needed by other transport animals and were consequently indispensable along the Silk Road.
