The Quest in Kazakhstan To Build a Better Camel
AKTAU, Kazakhstan — In most of the world, camels come in two types: two-humped Bactrian and one-humped dromedary.
But nothing is so simple in the desert of Kazakhstan, where the camels come in an array of shapes, most of them some version of oneand-a-half-humped. This is not a naturally occurring oddity.
Kazakhstan, a vast and sparsely populated nation in Central Asia, is expanding its camel herds by mating two-humped and one-humped camels, producing hybrids that are hardy to cold like Bactrian breeds, while producing copious milk like dromedaries.
Demand for the animals is driven by the improbable rise in popularity of a fermented camel milk drink known as shubat. It also stems from a push by the government to develop agriculture and diversify the economy away from oil; the Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture provides loans to farmers to expand the hybrid herds.
This kind of camel husbandry was widespread in pre-industrial Central Asia, where for centuries the most common form of hybrid, known as a Nar camel, was the preferred beast of burden for eastwest trade with China.
But the practice largely faded in the early 20th century, when the Soviet authorities confiscated livestock from nomads during collectivization.
As Kazakhstan pulled out of its post-Soviet economic slump, the camel herds also recovered. The number of camels in Kazakhstan rose to 191,000 in 2017 from 96,000 in 1999, the last year for which figures are available, according to the state statistics agency.
At the same time, hybrids became more common, giving rise to the distinctive one-and-a-halfhumped animals now seen roaming Kazakhstan’s arid landscape.
“Now many people are keeping camels,” said Gulnara Uteniyazova, a camel milkmaid. She said her family owns about 80 head, mostly hybrids. “It’s good business.”
Kazakh veterinarians have documented 32 types of hybrid, of which about 20 are raised commercially. The hump arrangement depends on the degree of hybridization.
The most common hybrid is achieved by mating a Bactrian male, with its two distinct humps and a pronounced dip between them, with a female dromedary.
Kazakhs have taken pride in their expanding, unusual herds. Kazakhstan is “the leader in selective breeding of camels, with nothing comparable elsewhere in the world,” a business news site, In Business, wrote last fall.
Shubat, the fermented camel milk drink, is prized for being highly probiotic, not to mention a little bit alcoholic.
“If you let the milk sit for two weeks it becomes shubat all by itself,” Ms. Uteniyazova said.
To be sure, a glass of shubat of any type, with its sour tang and mysterious globs of milk fat, can be difficult for the uninitiated to get down. But it is undeniably popular in Kazakhstan, creating demand for the crossbred camel herds.