Arvana Dromedary

Camel

For the nomadic Turkoman population living in the Kara-Kum desert the Arvana has been the only animal supplying milk, meat, wool and transportation for almost millennia. Some rock drawings in the Chendir ravine on the western slopes of the Kopet-Dag in southwest Turkmenistan depict domesticated dromedaries and riders and date to the beginning of our current era. The Arvana is a typically milk yielding, pack carrying and smooth riding breed of camels. The present day qualities have been archived by long selection: special attention was paid to the use of sires out of high milk yielding females. Arvana dromedaries are reared in all parts of Turkmenistan, as well as in Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and southern districts of Kazakhstan. They are also found in Turkey, northern Iran and Afghanistan, where they may have been introduced by the Turkmen migrants in the 12th century during the conquest of these countries by the Seljuks. Reference: Dmitriez, N.G. and Ernst, L.K. (1989) Animal Genetic Resources of the USSR. Animal Production and Health Paper Publ. by FAO, Rome, 517 pp.