TheImprovement ofTropical and Subtropical Rangelands

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IMPROVEMENT OF TROPIOAL AND SUBTROPIOAL RANGELANDS
the attention of experienced herdsmen is necessary. Camels, especially
dams about to calve, have a tendency to stray, and tracking
them involves much work.
Although camels frequently go for long periods without water,
they drink a great deal whenever they can. In the dry seasons, it can
be quite a task to draw 90 liters ofwater per animal from a deep well.
Watering at ponds or reservoirs, which is easy with cattle, requires
great attention with camels, especially at places where livestock of
other species are watered as well. Camels tend to get into the water
and foul it and animals of other species refuse to drink it.
Camel pastoralism can generally be said to be more troublesome
and demanding than cattle pastoralism, though there are seasonal
changes to the pattern. Two slightly different examples can be mentioned,
one from southern Arabia and the other from Kenya.
Among the AI-Murrah of Rub' al-Khali, the members of a particular
patrilineal group tend to congregate around its oasis or permanent
well during the hot season. There is not much herding to be
done, as the vegetation is restricted to narrow and isolated patches
and the camels do not stray far from the watering places. By contrast,
the cool season is a period when much time has to be spent in
aiding mating and calving and in tracking wandering camels (Cole,
1975). It is a time of plenty of milk and easy access to water and
pastures. Families gather together and meet other patrilineal groups.
There is much inter-clan feasting.
In northern Kenya, the rainy season similarly involves both work
linked to camel reproduction and to congregation and enjoyment.
Since resources are abundant, but also because the areas opp.n to
camels become restricted, herds and people are concentrated in areas
with good drainage. Families that tend to be parceled out into
many small sub-units during the dry season are able to stay together
in the rainy season. AB drought proceeds, the main camps must live
closer to the permanent waters, but the camel herds and their herdsmen
roam widely in search of pasture. "Almost every able-bodied
person, including children from the age of seven, is pressed into service...."
(Torry, 1978). Wet season routines sometimes demand a
very intensive input of labor by a restricted number of people. Dry
season routines, on the other hand, put a strain on the number of
people available because there is a proliferation of tasks.
One way of countering the high risk of camel pastoralism is to
combine camel rearing with the rearing ofsheep and goats that reproduce
quickly and so provide a viable pastoralism and a hedge against