World camel day | UPSC
World camel day: As tourists stay away from Odisha beaches, owners abandon camels
WHY IN NEWS:
Several camels in Odisha — used by tour operators to earn money by carrying tourists in beach sites — abandoned by owners
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3:Conservation of Biodiversity : World Camel Day
For PRELIMS it is important to understand the importance of Camel in our food chain and the importance of this day . This day is not yet acknowledged by UN .
For MAINS You can take a note on Diseases and policy needs and so on .
- Camel is one of the most important livestock for food security under climatic calamities.
- It is a sustainable livestock with lowest ecological footprints and produce one of the unique food, the camel milk.
- Camel milk is considered as the natural pharmacy.
- Camelpox is a virus that they are susceptible to.
- Nearly 25% of the young that get it do not survive.
- A high number of camels suffer from parasite infestations that make them sick and many times, killing them.
MISERABLE HABITAT :
- The lockdown has forced owners to leave beach areas and abandon their camels.
- They carry heavy loads and remain hydrated for hours at a time, attributes that make them vital for the survival of desert dwellers across the world.
- Camels on beaches are forced to ferry tourists around a terrain that is not suitable for them.
- The life of a camel out of its natural habitat is miserable.
FOOD SECURITY AND CAMELS :
- Camel is very little praised and appreciated for its role as a food security livestock.
- Camel is always neglected at all levels by the policymakers and very little attention is given in the R&D projects on a country, region, and global levels.
- The good thing is that the camel is again turning to its original task, the camel milk.
- New camel dairies are emerging both in the ancient habitats and new habitats of the camel.
WILD BACTRIAN CAMEL
- There are only 3 species of camel and only one of them is not domesticated, the Bactrian camel.
- The Wild Bactrian camel is in critical danger of becoming extinct in the wild.
- Because of droughts, the number of oases has been reduced greatly.
- This causes a rift in the food chain as wolves have increased hunting wild Bactrian camels.
- Wolves are not their only predator.
- Hunters and miners kill around 20 Wild Bactrian camels a year.
- One of their natural habitats, the Gashun Gobi desert, was a nuclear test site.
- As a result, the Wild Bactrian camel populations dropped quickly.
- They have been classified as critically endangered since 2002.
- Camel is fantastic livestock, designed with special DNAs to support human life in driest parts of the world.
- The policymakers at all levels should realize the importance of this unique creature and should give a chance to the incredible camel to perform as a food security animal in the climate change context.
- The WORLD CAMEL DAY is therefore celebrated each year on 22nd June to aware the people about the incredible role the camel is playing and the hopes we foresight from the camel in the challenging future.
SOURCES:DownToEarth | World camel day | UPSC