Camel Production and Research

Camel belongs to Camilidae family. Its scientific name is Canmelus dromedarious, is called as the Ship of Desert because of its tolerance against the harsh environment and survival without food and water even up to one month. The total population of camel in the world is 19 million and in Pakistan is 1.2 million out of which 41% in Baluchistan, 27% in Punjab, 25% in Sind and 07% in KPK. The various uses of camel in terms of percentage are given below:

Area	Transportation of Goods	Riding	Sports	Industries (Milk, Leather, skin, hides, bones etc)
Dry Mountains	38	15	10	8
Irrigated Plains	40	15	8	8
Sandy Deserts	76	21	3

Camel is one of the livestock's important animal and is helping in the growth of GDP. It is also helpful to meet the national requirements of meet, milk, leather and other industries.

Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, UVAS, arranged a study tour for the students of DVM 8th semester. The basic purpose of the tour was to give exposure to the students and also to provide them with the field knowledge and how to meet with the future food requirements.

It included students from clinical groups A1, A2, and B1. They University buses set out for tour on Saturday at 2:15 am sharp. The route used was G.T Road. The students did their breakfast at Jhang. Then they moved further. It was all adventure as well as Knowledge acquiring tour and fun too because there were many midway stops. The bus tires were trapped into the sandy desert area many times. It was almost 50 degree on the Celsius in the desert. There were snakes and other insects in the Camel Research and Training Centre, coming out from their natural hides. The Centre comprised of 171 acres area. It is located in area Rakh Manni. The host told that they brought two males and twenty eight females (Mareecha Breed) from Bahawalpur. Now, the adult females were sixty four in number. The camel dance, riding, mating and some other performances were also presented in front of students. Few of the male students took bath in the tube well. The students were served with tea and biscuits.

On returning, the students also visited Tareemun Head Works and Heer Ranjha Tomb at Jhang. The students returned on Sunday at 00:30 hours. Prof Nisar managed the whole tour, took care of the students and guided them during the whole tour. He also appreciated the hard work and learning capabilities of the students.