15 Journal of Zoological Research | Volume 02 | Issue 03 | July 2020 Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 DOI: https://doi.org/10.30564/jzr.v2i3.2104 Journal of Zoological Research http://ojs.bilpublishing.com/index.php/jzr ARTICLE Portrayal of Camel Production in The Desert Ecosystem of Pakistan Asim Faraz * Department of Livestock and Poultry Production, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Bahauddin Zakariya University Mul- tan, Pakistan ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history Received: 3 July 2020 Accepted: 17 July 2020 Published Online: 30 July 2020 Camel plays a pivotal role in the subsistence pastoral economy of diverse ecozones extending from Gobi Desert and India in central Asia to Somalia and Ethiopia in the horn of Africa. Camel has special attributes including its appearance and ability to survive in hot, harsh and versatile arid environments. Camel has fascinated mankind as it can tolerate many stresses like heat; scarcity of water; water with high salinity and shortage of feed. Camel can digest dry matter and coarse crude fber better than any other ruminants. Among domestic animals, the dromedary is most important animal being survive in hot, arid and semi-arid regions and has potential to produce higher quality foods (meat and milk) under extreme environments at lower costs. Camel can tolerate solar radiations, higher temperatures and water scarcity. Camel consume those feed materials which remain un-utilized by other do- mestic animals, thus thrive well on sandy deserts with poor vegetation. Adaptation of Camelids in Pakistan is very well to their native environ- ment as they are performing and well sustaining a life in hostile deserts. The dromedaries provide milk and meat to the pastorals and herders in those areas where the survival of other livestock species is very tough. So, camels equilibrate the food security chain in the deep deserts and provide nourishment to its keepers; proving it to be a good candidate of food security and sovereignty in the desert ecosystem. Keywords: Camel Food Desert Pastoral Ecosystem Pakistan *Corresponding Author: Asim Faraz, Department of Livestock and Poultry Production, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan, Pakistan; Email: drasimfaraz@bzu.edu.pk 1. Introduction T he potential of camel is well known as it provides meat, milk, hairs, wool and transportation to many people in the world. Millions of people are getting benefts from camels in different ecozones. It is the animal of arid, semi-arid, mountainous and especially desert ar- eas where the survival and performance of other livestock species seems difficult [1] . Unique physiological charac- teristics aid the camel for this environment. It has food reservoir in the form of hump deposit on its back which stores energy in terms of fat. The fatty hump provides en- ergy during the drought conditions when there is shortage of food and water. Camel hump doesn’t contain water as most of the people think; rather it has stored fat by which the camel can live off in the food scarcity period [2] . Camel - an even toed ungulate has special defense system as it is fast runner and can go easily on sand, bite and spit on approaching when threatened by people [3] . Camel is versatile in its properties as it sustains life in adverse environment, eat and drink less, while no match regarding performance [4] . The popular notion of “ship of