Deserts are arid areas, i.e. regions where rain is so scarce that only rare plants can survive, and agriculture is impossible for lack of water.

There are different types of desert : rocky, sandy, stony, salty, etc : all are found in Mauritania.

In some desertic zones, and on the border of the desert (called Sahel) some plants and bushes manage to live - either by means of long roots able to reach remote underground water, or else using water trapped in sand dunes, or again capturing night-time condensation.

This vegetable life makes limited animal life possible.

The camels we are talking about here are actually dromedaries - camelus dromedarius - i.e. one-humped camels, living on the border of the great Sahara Desert.

These fascinating and extremely adaptable animals have developed particular features for hot and dry environments. Although they readily prefer to nibble tender tree sprouts, they thrive browsing on a diet of sparse pasture, salty plants, or thorny bushes, and can go for fairly long periods of time without drinking.

Evolution has given them a number of advantages :

• All their fatty tissue, which is their energy reserve, is stored above their body, insulating their viscera from the sun's burning heat.
• They do not perspire, and their long feet keep them far above the scorching ground.
• Body water is recycled from the bladder, and humidity is retrieved from air exhaled through the nostrils.
• Camels can close their nostrils if the air gets too dry.
• They can withstand considerable swings of body temperature without any damage.
• Their feet are cushioned to protect them from the hot and rough terrain.
• Their feet are also spread out, to keep them from sinking in soft sand.
• Many other features, e.g. protecting their eyes, allow them to live in a particularly hostile environment.

Scientists keep on finding new amazing features that support the firmly held belief of all camel breeders : that they are the most noble animals on Earth.

Desert nomads depend on the camel for survival.

Firstly, camels supply milk in environments where there is nothing to eat for humans.

Camel meat is excellent : practically disease-free, practically cholesterol-free.

Camel hair and wool is used to weave tents and rugs.

Camels are good riding animals : they can either run very fast over a short distance, or cover very long distances without tiring. Camel racing is an increasingly appreciated sport, particularly in the Middle East.

Camels can carry heavy loads, and have been used for centuries in caravans that crossed the Sahara carrying salt, gold and other goods.

Desert families are nomadic, not because they have weird ideas, but because they have to move around looking for new pastures for their camels. Vegetation is so sparse that it does not last a whole season.

Now and then, when a family decides to move - Northwards in the damp season away from mosquitoes, back South in the dry season looking for pasture - the tent and all the family belongings are carried on camel-back. Women and small children travel in the shade, sitting on special canopied saddles.

Nowadays most nomads have become city-dwellers, but they still love camels and the nomadic lifestyle. Whenever they can take some holidays, they pile a tent and its furnishings into a pick-up truck and go off into the 'bush'. There, they 'build' their tent, and look for some camel milk to taste in the moonlight, to the sound of nostalgic sung poems.

The Mauritanian tent is beautiful in its simplicity. It is a rectangle of cloth - hand-woven camel or sheep wool, or hand-woven cotton, or several layers of cotton cloth, a white layer on top and brightly-coloured patchwork underneath as a ceiling. Stretched between posts or pickets, the tent is raised in the middle on two long posts leaning against each other. It can be up to 12 meters long. Even the grandest home can be folded small enough to be carried by a single camel.

Have you ever wondered how desert people managed to survive without any fruit or vegetables? Where do they get their vitamins?

The answer is : in camel milk.

Dromedaries are tylopods ; according to scientists, although camelids chew their food twice, they are closer to humans than ruminants such as cattle. This may also apply to their biochemistry.

Contrary to widespread belief, camels are generally calm, intelligent and friendly. Even so, breeding them calls for know-how, with more negotiation than authority, particularly when it comes to obtaining milk.

Unlike cows, camels do not store milk in the udder, and any distraction at milking time can stop the milk flow entirely. Camels are a bit temperamental, and give more milk if they know and like the milker.

Until now all milking is done by hand. Mechanical milking is reported in Central Asia and India, but such novelties have not yet reached Mauritania.

Designed by nature for quick camel-calf growth in a hostile environment, camel milk has some original features :

• Naturally low fat content, (ranging seasonally from 2.5 to 3.5 percent in Mauritania) with 40 percent less cholesterol than in cow milk.
• Low sugar (lactose) content
• As much protein as in cow milk
• High mineral content : sodium, potassium, magnesium, iodine if it is present in the camel's food.
• High vitamin C content : with 3.5 mg per 100 ml, camel milk is the one with most vitamin C of all species analyzed.
• Singular proteins and an original fatty-acid composition. Even sour, camel milk does not curdle, and this makes it easily digestible. Cream is difficult to separate.

Camel milk is considered by desert people as a complete food, that one can live on alone for weeks ; it is believed to be good for the liver, and to give women a clear complexion.

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