`JAMALS' OF THE DESERT

By Hazlinda Hamzah

AL-KHAFJI (SAUDI ARABIA), Jan 20 (Bernama) -- Twenty female and two male
camels are his precious belongings on the desert.

The ‘Jamals’ or camels of white, brown and black shades roam freely in the
day to graze the sandy plains and return to their enclosures only during feeding
times and straight through the night.

Some go as far as 10 kilometers each day and stroll back to their owner’s
farm just before the sun sets.

Saud Jaman Huzaym Al-Suabie, who is more comfortably referred to by the
locals as Sheikh Imam Saud, lives in Al-Khafji, a remote but rich oil town
located to the northeast of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and just kilometers away
from the border of Kuwait.

Sheikh Imam Saud started breeding camels on part time basis with his
brother, Falih Al-Subaie, 20 years ago, while still working with an oil company.

CAMELS' FARM

Upon retiring from the company, last December, Imam Saud now takes care of
his camels and sheep out in the desert with the few chickens he rears alongside.

Here, many other similar farms are operated by locals with the help of
imported labour especially from India and the Africa.

"Not easy to find reliable help to work on the camel farm in the desert, I
had one Sudanese recently and he didn’t even last for 12 hours. My current help
from India, is going back to see his family for 4 months, thus this need for a
replacement. Luckily I am now detached from my employer of 30 years, my chance
to stay around and see to my farm’s needs," the Imam Saud told the writer who
happened to be in Al-Khafji for a couple of days, recently.

He also added that his brother, Falih, the manager of the farm often lends
him a helping hand and both spend a lot of time on the desert occasionally with
their sons.

"The camels eat twice a day. They feed on bread, bales of dried grass and
bread crumbs mixed with water. It costs about 300 Saudi Riyal (RM270) a month,
to feed one camel," explained Imam Saud.

However, too much dry bread, bought in sacks, can cause stomach ache for
the camels.

LIFE SPAN

Falih had this to say: "They should only have two meals a day. If they fall
sick, we will have to fetch the veterinarian to treat them immediately. However,
sometimes we tend to forget that they shouldn’t be overfed. Camels love to eat,
they have big teeth to chomp the bread down."

The camel has a life span of around 35 to 40 years and can produce around
12 offspring at least in its life time.

Chicken are reared on a camel farm to discourage insects from eating off the
camel’s fur especially in winter, when the camels shed their old furry skin for
the new.

The year-old fur of the camel need not be sheared off, as it drops off on
its own, said Falih in fluent English.

Looking seriously at the tall, white male, which had its one feet tethered
to a wooden pole, he noted that “an adult she-camel costs around 8 thousand
Saudi Riyal (RM7000) but the male can fetch extremely high prices, anything
between 35,000 to a million Saudi Riyals. We just bought one male from the
Al-Saud’s farm belonging to the Saudi King's family. It will take us a year to
realise the breed this investment will provide.

A good breed, the writer was made to understand, will have good physique
including a long neck. The good line of progeny will give the breeder
sound returns on their investments.

BABY CAMELS

Imam Saud, who was getting ready to milk the female camel which had just
given birth two weeks earlier said from afar, the mating season starts in
winter, between October and March each year.

"The young camels take longer to mate and breed successfully in the
beginning while the more matured females get impregnated every alternate year.
That is a sign of prosperity for the breeder,” he said adding a smile to his
explanation.

When asked if camels gave birth naturally or otherwise, the two brothers
affirmed that 100 per cent of camel births on their farm were natural, with
very little assistance from humans.

“We just need to observe from afar, but if complication should occur, the
vet comes in. The baby camels are normally examined at 6 months of age. If found
not perfectly shaped, they go to the slaughter house. Sold as meat for 3
thousand Saudi Riyals (RM2,700) each,” explained Falih.

To these camel breeders and owners, the camels are their precious asset,
tough and smart. They even respond to their names when called, by coming forward
to sniff their owner’s hands.

They even know how to show their gratitude to their owner who feeds them
twice daily and recognises them as individual.

TASTY CAMEL MILK

The milk from the camel tasted better than a good tall glass of hot Latte
sold at the popular coffee and tea houses. Naturally warm, its creamy taste took
the writer by surprise, overwhelmed by its odorless and smooth texture, unlike
milk from other animals.

“The white camel’s milk is finer than that of the milk from the brown camel
which is definitely creamier. The black camel’s milk has got a saltier taste
and only a small volume is available each time the animal is milked. And
the most special part is the foam, which serves as a protective top layer, to
sieve out any sand from the desert.

"However, the froth tastes best when dipped with sticky Saudi dates,
something the Arabs enjoy with a small cup of hot Gawa, which is spicy Arab
coffee, while sitting by their tents in the desert, every day,” the small built
Imam Saud added dipping his piece of brown date into the light foam topping his
bowl of camel’s milk.

And adding to all this is the experience of watching the sun setting in the
desert that wrapped up the writer's quest to learn about camels in the
desert.

-- BERNAMA