HYDERABAD: Camels in Achhro Thar, Sanghar district are faced with burnt vegetation and drought, which has increased osteophagy (bone eating) among them to compensate for the lack of food and phosphates they received from the desert plants.
Camels are herbivorous animals, but experts observed that the frequent droughts and dryness have forced these domestic animals to feed on dead animal bones more frequently than under normal circumstances.
Dr Pershotam Khatri, chairman, Department of Animal Reproduction at Sindh Agriculture University (SAU), Tandojam, who has studied the state of camel habitats, visited the desert areas frequently to meet camel herders. The herders informed of the changing feeding behaviour of camels in the white desert.
Dr Khatri said camels adapted best to the desert environment, and were capable of enduring thirst and hunger for many days. “But now the famine has forced these camels to eat bones of dead animals for survival.”
He said these animals migrate from extensive management to semi-extensive and intensive management conditions ie from local areas to canal areas, where they face different environment and feeding practices to survive, as result their body condition deteriorates.
The population of camels was also on a decline. The SAU professor said that besides the prolonged drought situation, the traditional land-use patterns, seasonal migration, establishment of reserve grazing areas, harvesting of feeds and use of watering points might have been important factors in the reduction of camel population.
Camels have an important role in the local communities living in the desert, especially socioeconomically. They are beloved companions, a source of milk and meat, they provide transport, and are used for entertainment in activities such as racing and dancing.
Khuman Singh, a local activist from Khipro, a part of Achhro Thar, said the herders in two neighbouring villages Jeeanhar and Asso Dahar have around 110 camels, and 12 camels were reported dead quite recently due to the harshness of the drought.
Camels remain neglected in terms of research and care at farms compared to other domestic animals like cattle, sheep, and goats. Therefore, exact statistics of camel population in Sindh are missing.
Local activists pointed out that some families in Achhro Thar have herds of 50 to 100 or more camels. Each family keeps two-three camels for their personal use for travelling locally to reach remote sandy areas. The herders also get milk, wool and meat from these animals.
Hathi Singh, another activist of Khipro, said camels eat almost all trees and plants in the desert and have adaptive ability to survive in extreme weather conditions. But the recent phenomenon has impacted camels badly, as all trees, which possibly could have provided fodder to this animal, seem dried up.
The dryness has increased the difficulties of camel herders who now find it even more difficult to keep the health of the animals intact for better survival.
There are common grazing fields along sand dunes where animals, cows, goats and sheep leave makeshift farms in the morning and come back in the evening for milking, without shepherds. Similarly, camels have a wider area for wandering and getting food from trees and plants.
Camels, called the ship of the desert, can survive for a week without water being the most drought-resilient species. Besides Thar Desert, people in the mountainous Kachho and Kohistan, as well as coastal areas keep herds of camels for similar purposes.
A study on Achhro Thar in Taluka Khipro District Sanghar conducted by Basic Development Foundation (BDF) shows that the pattern of settlements in desert is different from the canal area. Villages are situated surrounding traditional water ponds and wells. The people and their livestock use the water from the same sources.
The study shows that economic conditions of Achhro Thar are highly unidirectional because the main source of livelihood is livestock apart from a little area, which comes under command of Nara Canal, where small scale agricultural crops can be seen.
Currently, the economy along with the population is under immense threat due to water scarcity and drought.
Achhro Thar has a little cover of trees, bushes and other types of plants because of its sandy nature. There is only a small area with settled soil fit for cultivating a few crops, but even that depends on rain.
Achhro Thar has white sand, from which it gets its name too. This desert is distinct from the rest of the Tharparkar District, due to its rapidly shifting sand dunes. In Tharparkar, except the Achhro Thar, the sand dunes are relatively more settled and there is cultivable area with large vegetation cover and more trees.
The communities are scattered in pockets of huts which consist of close kith and kin. This division of settlement has many social, ethnic and economic roots. Migration and shifting is the trait of this population, which they undertake for water availability.
These nomadic communities remain in search of fodder and vegetation for their livestock, which is the only source of livelihood among them. There is no irrigation system available for agriculture in the region, neither is there a mechanism of fodder preservation, which can help avoid the loss of livestock during drought.
Excessive heat in the desert and the drought has scalded grass, pastures, fodder and vegetation. In the last 15 years, this drought has eradicated the source of livestock rearing. The desert communities are losing their only source of survival – livestock – in the wake of this burning climate. Presently, the whole of the Achhro Thar looks like a burnt field.
The drought has also forced many farmers to sell their animals at cheap rates.
The BDF study suggested that some effective steps could improve the situation towards a better level. Water storage and fodder preservation were the needed tasks to be imparted in the area along with financial support of the affected community. “The need is to take responsibility and put some sincere efforts into the welfare of people facing trouble,” it concluded in its report.