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For centuries, Somali pastoralists have relied on camels for sustenance, transport and social status. In recent decades, camel husbandry has evolved into a very profitable business, transforming the lives of many Somalis. However, the mainstream media, using images of dry lands, would have us believe that this flourishing enterprise is threatened by man-made climate change. Camel Husbandry in the Horn of Africa and Media Fearmongering Camels, also known as “ships of the desert,” truly stand out as remarkable creatures perfectly tailored to thrive in the parched, windswept landscapes of arid and semi-arid regions across the globe. In the dry lowlands...

The Neolithic period of northern Arabia is known in part from the monumental stone structures and accompanying cave art, as well as the remains of hearths indicating temporary settlement. But there is much we do not know about the character and timing of settlement before the spread of animal pastoralism (c. 6000 BC).Researchers have recently discovered new, enigmatic carvings that shed light on this ancient history.Five panels totaling nine large life-size specimens have so far been identified. The camels have frequently had other camels carved over them or had their features and proportions improved, which suggests the site was used...

In the late 1850s, the U.S. Army experimented with using camels as pack animals in the American Southwest, where horses and mules routinely suffered from dehydration. Camels from the Ottoman Empire were shipped to the United States in 1853. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis ordered they be tested on routes across the desert to California. The camel experiment was a success, but the Army was wholly uninterested in camels. Before there could be an internal struggle about it, the Civil War broke out in 1861. The secretary of war became president of the Confederacy, and the idea died out. The...

A Saudi businessman signed a 120 million riyal ($32 million) deal in Riyadh to purchase 12 camels, marking one of the biggest camels' purchase deals in the Gulf. The event coincided with Cristiano Ronaldo joining of Saudi Al-Nassr team. The deal was signed in Dahana Desert, which is hosting the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival. The businessman, Abdullah Al-Nahdi, who is an investor in the pharmacies sector, purchased 12 camels that came first in the festival from their owner, businessman Mohammed bin Jakhdab Al-Qahtani. Organized by the Camel Club, King Abdulaziz Camel Festival kicked off in December and concludes in mid-January....

WHEN you think of camels, you think of hot and dry deserts, with no water in sight. But is it true that camels store water in their humps? Verdict: FALSE Contrary to what cartoons have been showing us about camels, they do not store water in their humps. Instead, these ships of the desert have fatty tissue stored in their humps, which becomes their source of nourishment in case there is a shortage of food. When the camel is unable to access food for a long period of time, its body is able to metabolise the fat in the humps...

Shaheen stretched out on the sand and closed his eyes, but there was little time to rest for the camel. World Cup fans coming in droves to the desert outside Doha were ready for their perfect Instagram moment: riding a camel on the rolling dunes. As Qatar welcomes more than a million fans for the monthlong World Cup, even its camels are working overtime. Visitors in numbers the tiny emirate has never before seen are rushing to finish a bucket list of Gulf tourist experiences between games: ride on a camel’s back, take pictures with falcons and wander through the...

A species of giant two-humped camel, Camelus knoblochi, is known to have lived for approximately a quarter of a million years in Central Asia. A new study in Frontiers in Earth Science shows that C. knoblochi's last refuge was in Mongolia until approximately 27,000 years ago. In Mongolia, the last of the species coexisted with anatomically modern humans and maybe the extinct Neanderthals or Denisovans. While the main cause of C. knoblochi's extinction seems to have been climate change, hunting by archaic humans may also have played a role. "Here we show that the extinct camel, Camelus knoblochi, persisted in...

More than 40 camels have been disqualified from Saudi Arabia's beauty pageant for receiving Botox injections and other cosmetic enhancements. The contest is a highlight of the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival, where $66m (£45m) in prize money is at stake. Key attributes include long, droopy lips, a big nose and a shapely hump. Judges used "advanced" technology to uncover tampering with camels on a scale not seen before, the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. All contestants were first led into a hall where their external appearance and movements were examined by specialists, it said. Their heads, necks and torsos...

More than 40 camels were booted from a Saudi Arabian beauty pageant after getting administered Botox, hormones and other appearance enhancing techniques. This marks the biggest crackdown in the contest’s history. “The club is keen to halt all acts of tampering and deception in the beautification of camels,” the Saudi Press Agency said of the dromedary disqualification which occurred at the annual Abdulaziz Camel Festival, near Riyadh, where breeders compete for nearly $66 million in prize money, the Washington Post reported. The camels are judged on the shape of their heads, necks, humps, dress and postures — think the camel...

It started with a petrified tree, half-buried in the mud of the Mokelumne River watershed in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The site intrigued Greg Francek, a ranger for East Bay Municipal Utility District, as he was walking the valley last summer. He inspected further, and what he recently discovered led to one of the most significant fossil discoveries in California history. Advertisement "I looked around the area further and I found a second tree," Francek said in an EBMUD statement released this week, documenting the discovery. "And then a third and so on. After finding dozens of trees I realized...

In the Kapiti Nature Reserve in southern Kenya, this dromedary is furiously undergoing a PCR test to detect a cousin of COVID-19, Mers, which could one day cause the next global pandemic. Two metres high and weighing 300 kilos, the beast rumbles and struggles, restrained at the neck, muzzle and tail by three camel drivers, while the veterinarian in the blue coat hurriedly proceeds with the dreaded sampling. "Taking a sample from the animal is difficult because you never know what can happen (...) if you do it wrong, it can be even worse because it can hit you, bite...

Plodding his way through the desert in remote southwest Pakistan, Roshan the camel carries priceless cargo: books for children who can no longer go to school because of coronavirus lockdowns. The school children, who live in remote villages where the streets are too narrow for vehicles, put on their best clothes and rush out to meet Roshan. They crowd around the animal shouting "the camel is here!" Pakistan's schools first closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, and have only opened sporadically since then, with around 50 million school-age children and university students told to continue their...

Mongolia is in the grip of one of its most extreme winters on record, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), with temperatures forecast to plunge to -50 °C (-58 °F). The severe cold has killed more than 500 camels in the central region, threatening livestock and leaving many herder families vulnerable.The extreme weather, called dzud, threatens the livelihoods and health of thousands of Mongolian herders residing in the country's remote provinces.As a pre-emptive action, the Mongolian Red Cross Society (MRCS) has sent financial assistance and livestock nutrition kits in target areas to help...

Chinese expat Alexis (Xiaozhe Huo) has won the second trial race for the Camel Trek Marathon at Dubai’s Al Marmoom racetrack. A total of 11 expatriates from nine countries participated in the race. Organised by the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Centre (HHC), the annual Camel Trek Marathon is now open to expats in the UAE. German national Linda Krockenberger and Russian-Armenian expat Nonna Akopian clinched the second and third spots, respectively. Alexis said: “It was not just (a) physical race ... but also psychological. You need to have clarity of mind, avoid fear and be courageous in achieving your goal....

An ancient cave decorated with distinguished engravings depicting scenes of animals has been discovered at Wadi Al-Zulma in North Sinai. "The newly discovered cave is the first of its kind to be discovered in the area," said Aymen Ashmawi, head of the ancient Egyptian antiquities sector at the Ministry of Antiquities. Ashmawi explained that the scenes carved inside the cave are completely different from those found in South Sinai, having a special artistic style that resembles raised relief in execution. Studies are underway to determine their date. Hisham Hussein, head of the discovery mission, said that most of the discovered...

Inside the world of camel wrestling in TurkeyCamel wrestling festivals are held throughout the winter months in western Turkey, a tradition rooted in the nomadic culture of Yoruk tribes, a Turkic ethnic group. In the days when the nomads used camels as the primary means of transportation, male camels would compete for the opportunity to mate with female camels in heat by “wrestling” — nudging each other until one fell to the ground or ran away. These days, the wrestling matches are held in stadiums, in festivals attended by hundreds of locals. Camel owners spend thousands of dollars to feed...

TRIPOLI - Three thousand camels have been walked out of Libya’s capital Tripoli in an overnight evacuation after the port where they arrived came under artillery fire. The camels left Tripoli’s port shortly after midnight on Wednesday, and were herded along a highway leading west to the city of Zawiya, some 45 km (30 miles) away, where they arrived on Thursday morning, according to a local merchant. A Reuters reporter saw about 20 camel herders whipping the camels into line as they left central Tripoli, with some camels trying to search for food along the side of the road. Security...

Thousands of camels in South Australia will be killed to stop them drinking water in the drought-stricken region following a plea from Aboriginal leaders. More than 10,000 feral camels will be shot using professional shooters in helicopters from Wednesday. The action will be taken following complaints that the thirsty animals are invading properties in search of water in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands (AYP). The five-day long culling also follows fears that the camels are a contributor to global warming as they emit methane gases equating to one tonne of carbon ­dioxide a year. Tim Moore, chief executive of carbon...

Officials will kill thousands of camels in Australia as they drink too much water amid the wildfires. Leaders in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in northwest Australia will send helicopters to kill up to 10,000 camels in a five-day campaign starting Wednesday, The Australian reported. The order to kill comes as a drought makes the camels more desperate for water, causing chaos in local communities. Marita Baker, an APY executive board member, told the newspaper that the camels were causing problems in her community of Kanypi. "We have been stuck in stinking hot and uncomfortable conditions, feeling unwell, because...

Today, fake officials filed a formal complaint against the Presidential campaign of Kamela Harris.  The fake charges and details of the case follow: The 2020 Harris Presidential Campaign for POTUS hired illegal aliens to dye and trim the hairs of a camel to create a likeness of Kamela Harris on the male camel's hump. A regular tourist of the festival said, "I'm very disappointed.  Their political stunt cheapened a beautiful festival honoring one of the great animals of the Earth." The owner of the abused camel translated the camel's complaint as follows: "In America, I hear Kamela Harass gives...