TO GOBI DESERT
CAMELS
Throughout Mongolia you will see the two- humped Bactrian camel. They were domesticated thousands of years ago and are closely related to the rare wild camel known as the khavtgai. Of the 360 000 camels in the country the two-thirds can be found in the five provinces which strech across the Gobi. One of the five domesticated animals revered by nomads, camels are perfect for long-distance travel in the Gobi, but are slow (they average about 5 km per hour); they are easy to manage (a camel can last for over a week without drink and a month without food, if the humps are drooping, the camels are in poor health or need some food or water.); they are adaptable (a camel can survive the hardest winter); they can carry a lot of gear (up to 250 kg); and they provide wool (an average of 5 kg per year); milk (up to 500 litres a year) and meat. Normally relaxed and seemingly snooty, male camels go crazy during the mating season in January-February. The number of camels is considerably lower than it was in the past years (850 000 in 1960), they are being killed for their meat and many nomads are leaving the harsch Gobi and breeding other livestock. However, several national parks in the Gobi have been established to protect the 300 or so wild khavtgai camels.
