Breeds of Camel: Kacchi

The Kacchi camel hails from the swampy borderlands of southern Gujarat, where the Rann of Kacch forms a near-impassible barrier between modern Pakistan and India. The only large animal able to navigate these treacherous, misty bogs is the Kacchi camel, whose moderate size and wide feet, as well as reputed intelligence, grant it the ability to pick its way around trouble spots. The Kacchi is used by the Indian Border Defence Force to patrol in this area, but the Kacchi's main use is milk production. The sparsity of vegetation in the Rann led to the evolution of a longer lactational period and higher milk yield-- up to 20 liters a day!

Breeds of Camel: Jaisalmeri

This camel breed emerged around the most isolated of Rajasthan's fort towns, the golden city of Jaisalmer. As in Bikaner, the wealth of the state depended on the taxation of trade. Here, however, the penchant for draught was not so strong, and camels were instead selected for utility as pack animals.

The Jaisalmeri camel is tall and thin, without the large withers and muscles of the Bikaneri. Its coat is very sparse and lightly colored, with no extra facial or body hair. This physique makes it well-suited for racing as well as pack, and the type consistently wins at the famous camel fairs in Pushkar, Jaisalmer, and Bikaner.

Here, a typically Jaisalmeri face:

Breeds of Camel: Bikaneri

There are four breeds of camel in India, distinguished as much through historical and geographic separation as by biological difference: Bikaneri, Jaisalmeri, Merwari, and Kacchi. Here, I will describe the Bikaneri.

India is one of the few parts of the world where camels are used as draught animals, and Bikaner, as an isolated city dependent on trade, prefers camels well suited for hitching to a cart. The breed is very large and heavy, with thick appendages and hefty withers. It is much darker than most camel breeds, with profuse facial and neck hair. This gives the animal a rather hilarious appearance. A defining trait of the breed is the distinctive notch or 'shtop' in the snout.

Here, pictures showing the dark coloration, hairy face, and 'shtop' of the Bikaneri camel (contrasted with a Jaisalmeri in the second photo):