Camels

Seminal plasma contains a large protein component which has been implicated in the function, transit and survival of spermatozoa within the female reproductive tract. However, the identity of the majority of these proteins remains unknown and a direct comparison between the major domestic mammalian species has yet to be made. As such, the present study characterized and compared the seminal plasma proteomes of cattle, horse, sheep, pig, goat, camel and alpaca. GeLC-MS/MS and shotgun proteomic analysis by 2D-LC-MS/MS identified a total of 302 proteins in the seminal plasma of the chosen mammalian species. Nucleobindin 1 and RSVP14, a member of the BSP (binder of sperm protein) family, were identified in all species. Beta nerve growth factor (bNGF), previously identified as an ovulation inducing factor in alpacas and llamas, was identified in this study in alpaca and camel (induced ovulators), cattle, sheep and horse (spontaneous ovulators) seminal plasma. These findings indicate that while the mammalian species studied have common ancestry as ungulates, their seminal plasma is divergent in protein composition, which may explain variation in reproductive capacity and function. The identification of major specific proteins within seminal plasma facilitates future investigation of the role of each protein in mammalian reproduction. This proteomic study is the first study to compare the protein composition of seminal plasma from seven mammalian species including two camelid species. Beta nerve growth factor, previously described as the ovulation inducing factor in camelids is shown to be the major protein in alpaca and camel seminal plasma and also present in small amounts in bull, ram, and horse seminal plasma.

An epidemiological study was executed to determine the prevalence of common diseases in
camels of Cholistan desert, Pakistan. Starting from Fort Abbas to Rahim Yar Khan, the survey
was carried out from May 2010 to April 2011. Epidemiological data was collected from the
camel herds of Cholistan (Locally called as Tobbas) and analyzed to interpret current
scenario of camel diseases. The overall prevalence of all diseases in camels was 15.8%. The
prevalence of trypanosomiasis, pneumonia, mange, and anthrax in camels was recorded as
5.39%, 5.49%, 3.14% and 1.80%, respectively. Considering this baseline information, strategic
disease control measures should be develop to combat infectious, parasitic and miscellaneous
diseases especially Surra, pneumonia, mange and anthrax.

Develer tarihte ulaşım, yük, binek, savaş, gıda ve spor amacı ile insanlığa hizmet etmiştir.  Türklerde deve yetiştiriciliği 4.000 yıldan fazla olmalıdır çünkü bazı arkeolojik kanıtlar Türklerde deve güreşinin en azından 4.000 yıldan beri yapıldığını göstermektedir. Ancak 20.  yüzyılda başlayan  endüstrileşme  ve modernleşme süreci içinde deve önemini kaybetmiş  ve  günümüzde  sadece  bir  spor  ve  turizm  malzemesi  derecesine  inmiştir.  Bu nedenle  deve  populasyonu  geçen  süre  içinde  1.000’ler  seviyesine  inmiştir.  Develer
genellikle  Ege Bölgesi deve güreşleri amacı ile yetiştirilmektedir. Yılda 60-70 yerleşim yerinde deve güreşleri organize edilmektedir. Deve güreşleri Pazar günleri gerçekleştirilir ve sadece erkekler değil, kadın ve çocuklar tarafından da izlenir. Develerin ekipmanları, aksesuarları, süslemeler,  bakıcıların ücretleri, şehirden  şehre  ulaşım giderleri ile konaklama ve yiyecek giderleri oldukça pahalı olmasına rağmen, deve sahipleri genellikle çok zengin insanlar  olmayıp,  orta  veya  dar  gelire  sahip  insanlardır.Bu  nedenlerden  dolayı  bu organizasyonların  devam  edebilmesi  için  devlet  tarafından  desteklenmelerine  ihtiyaç vardır.

The study was conducted to assess the husbandry practices of dairy cattle, feed resources, and dairy products processing and marketing systems. Stratified random sampling was applied to select 213 households from urban, peri-urban and rural areas. Structured questionnaire were used to collect primary information. Descriptive statistics was employed to analyze the collected data. The study found that 2.5(0.11) dairy cattle were owned per household (mean with SE). About 40.4% of the respondents owned crossbred dairy cattle and 92.0% preferred crossbred animals to expand their dairy farm. Extensive production system (mostly open grazing and without appropriate housing) was dominantly (70.0%) practiced. Grazing pasture, crop-residues and improved forages were the common feed resources. Most of the respondents (71.8%) offered the supplementary feeds for lactating cows. As overall, 6.9(38) kg of supplement feed was offered per animal/day. About 44.6% of the respondents gave priority to age for first mating of heifers (P<0.001).Heifers were allowed for mating at 35.3(0.84) months of age. Cows were kept in the production system for 8.3(0.16) years. Women took the higher share in milking and dairy products processing activities. About 81.3%, 65.4 and 50.8% of respondents in urban, rural and peri-urban, respectively owned (P<0.05) either improved or local dairy products processing equipment. About ½ of the respondents processed the raw milk into cottage cheese, butter and cottage yoghurt. There were no formal dairy products marketing and cooperatives. Overall, 85.1% of the respondents would like to start dairy cooperatives. In conclusion, the majority of the respondents preferred to have crossbred dairy cattle thus to improve the dairying practices in the study areas, crossbreeding of local cattle breeds with exotic breed dairy types with better feeding, proper healthcare and housing management systems , conservation of available feed resources, establishing of formal dairy products marketing system and dairy cooperatives are very essential.

Малку е познато дека меѓу фреските насликани во македонските средновековни цркви се јавуваат претстави на црномурести светители кои, судејќи според темната боја на кожата, но и според не-кои други белези на телото, се претпоставува дека биле по потекло од Африка. Се работи за конкрет-ни светители со свои имиња и култ, за чие потекло, освен изгледот, јасно говорат и нивните епитети и зачуваните житија. Африканските компоненти во црковната уметност во Македонија се застапени и преку егзотичните животни, чиешто потекло исто така може да се бара во Африка. Иако на прв поглед се чини дека станува збор за периферни мотиви, без подлабоко значење, споредбите со соодветните пишани дела од дадениот период укажуваат дека и присуството на овие животни во христијанските храмови неретко се должело на нивното исконско симболичко значење приспособено на принципите на христијанската вера.

The Canary Islands contain the most important dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius) population in the European Union and are the main export point of dromedaries to continental Europe and Latin America. We investigated the presence of antibodies against relevant disease agents in 100 Canarian camel sera. Selected blood samples of the same animals were also tested by PCR. Sera were tested for antibodies against Bluetongue virus (BTV; 0%), Bovine Viral Diarrhoea virus (BVDV; 0%), Camelpox virus (CPV; 8% by serum neutralization, 16% by ELISA), Peste des Petits Ruminants virus (PPRV, 0%), Rift Valley Fever virus (RVFV; 0%) and West Nile Fever virus (WNV; 3%), the bacterial pathogens Anaplasma sp. (3%), Brucella sp. (1%), Coxiella burnetii (19%), Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP; 22%), Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC; 10%) and Rickettsia sp. (83%), and the parasites Toxoplasma gondii (36%) and Neospora caninum (86%). The most remarkable findings were the detection of antibodies against CPV and the high antibody prevalence against C. burnetii, Rickettsia sp., T. gondii and N. caninum. By PCR, we found no C. burnetii, N. caninum and Anaplasma sp. DNA in the tested samples. However, Rickettsia sp. DNA was detected in six antibody positive tested samples. These results should be taken into consideration in order to implement adequate control measures and avoid a potential dissemination of infections to other territories.