Camels!

This is a Bactrian camel in the Almaty zoo.

Spurred by a conversation with a Kazakh architect here in Almaty who told me of the camel herd her great grandmother’s “white bone” – or aristocrat – family kept before the Bolsheviks took over in the 1920s, I started reading about camels online. I discovered, much to my surprise, that dromedaries and bactrians – one hump or two – have been crossbred to produce more docile (how insulting for a camel!) and stronger beasts. During the Soviet period, if not before, Kazakhstan was a prime breeding ground for this genetic engineering. Specifics on the results of crossbreeding can be found here: http://www.camelphotos.com/camel_breeds.html.

What the architect said was that the richest Kazakhs used to have their clothing made only from the fur of camels, and only from the hair on the camels’ chest. It was supposed to be warmest and softest possible fabric and especially coveted for children’s clothes.