Can camels swim?

Camels are almost mystical, almost prehistoric, almost creatures of fantasy and wonder, but they are big, heavy brutes of things, slow looking, and even when they are galloping at full pace, appear to be, in fact, in slow motion, which makes them kind of… well… elegant. Described metaphorically I guess, as ‘ships of the desert’ for centuries due to their ability to store and survive arid climates, camels may have just appeared to have an aversion to water as we rarely see them in any other than a sandy environment, and anyway, as much as we should not ‘profile’ humans, perhaps we should not profile camels, lumping them all ‘in the one boat together,’ either?

The Kutch district, of Gujarat, in North West India, is home to a herd of camels around 2000 of a total population of around 4000 ‘Kharai’ camels, bred and reared by the small ethnic ‘Rabari’ community of the region, mainly a pastoral community who sees itself as mythically invested by the Goddess Shiva with responsibility for the care of these particular camels owned by another Goddess, Parvati. They believe their custodial role is because of the medicinal properties of their camel’s milk, which is said to Local people believe that the milk of Kharai camels is beneficial in the treatment of tuberculosis, diabetes, and cancer, adamant that their people don’t get major diseases.

Another community heavily reliant upon the camels is the ‘Fakirani Jat,’ who have always been camel breeders, and in fact they enjoy a symbiotic relationship with their camels as they lead a somewhat Bedouin lifestyle. Moving around in search of fresh grazing, they use the camels as beasts of burden. However, when they stop to construct their ‘pakkha’ houses using reeds, grasses, jute and wood harvested from the mangroves, they then focus on caring for the camels for the coming months. A community leader, Ayoub Amin Jat explained that, “There has been a reluctance, spiritually, to sell the camel milk, and wool, but times are becoming more and more difficult.”

‘Things’ are becoming ‘difficult,’ it seems, as the specter of industrialization looms large, with India’s salt industry capitalizing on the high salinity of the regions mangrove swamps rapidly becoming a magnet for a sector keen to profit from the needs of its population. They create bunds around a tidal area to isolate, sun dry, and then harvest the salt left behind. But the issue is not that they are bulldozing the swamps, as the government has banned such operations since 2015, but that the mangroves have no water, die consequently, and may then be industrially developed.

It’s kind of a catch 22 situation, but one that appears to be hastening the demise of these amazing creatures, and the communities that sustain them.

To get back to camels themselves, “They may like to bathe as they drink,” said Muntasser Al Junaibi “But there are not too many places they can,” emphasizing that camels in Oman are very much creatures of the desert here in Oman. However, in the Kutch, the Kharai camel, for now, lives and swims on for up to three hours in search of fresh grazing, accompanied by their herders, on rafts, and in the water beside and behind them. Onlookers report a cacophony of sound as the camels’ bleat and bay, the herders call out and encourage them. It must be an amazing sight!

Pankaj Joshi supports local communities engaged in traditional lifestyles, and he said earlier this year, “Camel breeding is a traditional livelihood and occupation, for these people. Culturally and religiously, the herders are connected to this animal. If you want to conserve the camel, you have to protect their habitat and their ecosystem. If they do not coexist in complete harmony with the mangroves, how can they swim?” he asked. The danger to the camels, however, is that the buffalo is emerging as a much more resilient option, which while understandable, is deeply regretful from their religious, hereditary and traditional perspectives. The Kharai camel may indeed be anachronistic where industry provides the regional landscape, but, as one herder said, “This is our choice, this is us, it is who we are.” Those sentiments, I’m sure, are freely echoed across the Sultanate.

A sobering tale maybe, but my curiosity, and my question answered, I’ll soon move onto the next quirky question. Maybe next time it’ll be something very different?