Complementary information on the biology of Bactrian camels (Camelus bactrianus) in the Mangistau region of Kazakhstan

Abstract

The morphometric body parameters of male and female Bactrian camels, Kazakh Bactrian, were studied. Compared to camels of other breeds, the Kazakh Bactrian turned out to be one of the largest camels, having up to 750 kg for males and 690 kg for females, as well as powerful musculature and thick fur. Sexual dimorphism in body size and weight of males and females has been shown. The height at the withers of males was higher than in females by about 3.2 %, oblique length of the trunk by 4.5 %, chest girth by 1.3 %, and tibia girth by 6.6 % higher than in females. The greatest difference was in the live weight of the animals - 23,4 %. A histological study of one of the important internal organs - kidneys - was carried out, which allow camels to adapt to the conditions of waterless deserts. As a result of histological study of the kidneys of Kazakh Bactrians, the following characteristics of camel kidneys were established: the kidney capsule is rather thick (470±12 μm) and is made up of two layers: a layer of collagen fibres (400 μm) and thin (70 μm) inner smooth muscle cells. The relative thickness of the capsule and the presence of the smooth muscle cell layer within it appear to be related to the kidney’s ability to hold high intrarenal pressure while producing highly concentrated urine. The second feature of the Bactrian kidney was that the medullary layer was much thicker than the cortical layer. Their ratio was 1:4. The thick cerebral layer in camels provides relatively long renal tubules and loops of Henle, which are essential for the excretion of concentrated urine.