Editing Bactrian camel (section)

== Relationship to humans ==
[[File:Camel - panoramio (2).jpg|thumb|upright|Petroglyphs]]
The Bactrian camel was domesticated circa ~2,500 BCE.<ref name="MacHugh-et-al-2017">{{cite journal | last1=MacHugh | first1=David E. | last2=Larson | first2=Greger | last3=Orlando | first3=Ludovic | title=Taming the Past: Ancient DNA and the Study of Animal Domestication | journal=[[Annual Review of Animal Biosciences]] | publisher=[[Annual Reviews (publisher)|Annual Reviews]] | volume=5 | issue=1 | date=2017-02-08 | issn=2165-8102 | doi=10.1146/annurev-animal-022516-022747 | pages=329–351| pmid=27813680 }}</ref> The dromedary is believed to have been domesticated between 4000&nbsp;BCE and 2000&nbsp;BCE in [[Arabia]]. As pack animals, these ungulates are virtually unsurpassed, able to carry {{convert|170|-|250|kg|lb|abbr=on}} at a rate of {{convert|47|km}} per day, or {{convert|4|km/h}} over a period of four days.<ref name=rahimdad>Rahimdad Khan Molai Shedai; Janat ul Sindh 3rd edition 1993; Sindhi Adbi Board Jamshoro, page 20</ref> The species was a mainstay of transportation on the [[Silk Road]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Andrea |first1=A.J. |last2=Levi |first2=S.C. |year=2009 |series=The Silk Road |chapter=Afro-Eurasian connectivity across the ages |title=World System History |volume=I |chapter-url=https://www.eolss.net/Sample-Chapters/C04/E6-94-11.pdf}}</ref> The Bactrian camel was an important aspect in human transportation, they were able to withstand harsh conditions, which made them ideal for long distance travel.  Furthermore, Bactrian camels are frequently ridden, especially in desertified areas. In ancient [[Sindh]], for example, Bactrian camels of two humps were initially used by the rich for riding. The camel was later brought to other areas such as Balochistan and Iran for the same purpose.<ref name=rahimdad/>
[[File:Greenway BactrianCamel AgathaChristie January2024 NT CCBYSA open.jpg|thumb|Tang dynasty model, owned by [[Agatha Christie]]]]
Bactrian camels have been the focus of artwork throughout history. For example, westerners from the [[Tarim Basin]] and elsewhere were depicted in numerous ceramic figurines of the Chinese [[Tang dynasty]] (618–907).{{Cn|date=September 2023}}

=== United States imports ===
Bactrian camels were imported to the U.S. several times in the mid- to late [[19th century]], both by the U.S. military and by merchants and miners, looking for pack animals sturdier and hardier than horses and mules. Although the camels met these needs, the [[United States Camel Corps]] was never considered much of a success. Having brought two shipments of fewer than 100 camels to the U.S., plans were made to import another 1,000, but the [[US Civil War]] interrupted this. Most surviving camels of these endeavors, both military and private, were turned loose to survive in the wild. As a result, small feral herds of Bactrian camels existed during the late 19th&nbsp;century in the southwest deserts of the [[United States]].<ref name="Zentner experiment">{{cite web |title=The desert camel experiment |last=Zentner |first=Joe |publisher=DesertUSA.com and Digital West Media |url=http://www.desertusa.com/animals/desert-camel-experiment.html |access-date=February 9, 2017}}</ref> 

[[Topsy the Camel|One United States Camel Corps camel]] was later sold to [[Ringling Brothers]] and was also in several early [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] films.<ref name=lanhm>{{cite web |title=Topsy the Camel |url=https://nhm.org/stories/topsy-camel |publisher=[[Los Angeles Natural History Museum]] |first=Kat |last=Halsey |access-date=May 4, 2025}}</ref>

=== Documentaries ===
* ''[[The Story of the Weeping Camel]]'' is a 2003 Mongolian docudrama about a family of nomadic shepherds trying to get a white calf accepted by his mother, which rejected him after a difficult birth.

=== Military use ===
The [[Indian Army]] uses these camels to patrol in [[Ladakh]]. It was concluded that after carrying out trials and doing a comparative study with a single-humped camel brought from [[Rajasthan]] that the double-humped camel is better suited for the task at hand. Colonel Manoj Batra, a veterinary officer of the Indian Army, stated that the double-humped camel "are best suited for these conditions. They can carry loads of {{convert|170|kg}} at more than {{convert|17000|ft}} which is much more than the ponies that are being used as of now. They can survive without water for at least 72&nbsp;hours."<ref>{{cite web |first=Abhishek |last=Bhalla |date=19 September 2020 |title=Indian Army to use double-humped camels for transportation, patrolling in Ladakh |website=India Today |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/indian-army-to-use-double-humped-camels-for-transportation-patrolling-in-ladakh-1723246-2020-09-19}}</ref>