All 7 Camelid Species & The Legendary Silk Road
Discover all 7 species of camelid and their role in the development of some of the world's most famous civilizations. In this video, we explore all 3 camel species, including one critically endangered species found only in Mongolia and China and head to South America to meet the closest relatives to the camels, including 2 domestic and 2 wild species.
Chapters
0:00 The Silk Road
1:26 Bactrian Camel
3:18 Wild Camel
4:28 Dromedary Camel
6:20 Vicuña
7:52 Guanaco
9:15 Camelid Taxonomy
10:19 Alpaca
11:14 Llama
More rabbit holes to dive into!
Relatives: tbtrvl.com/relatives
Parks: tbtrvl.com/parks
Most Popular: tbtrvl.com/popular
Newest Videos: tbtrvl.com/newest
Creative Commons Attribution
Bactrian, Wild & Dromedary Camel Distribution - Adney et. al 2012
South American Camelid Distribution - Hugo D Yacobaccio 2021
Satellite Imagery - NASA
Editorial Attribution
Berber man leading a camel caravan - hakanyalicn / shutterstock.com
Newborn Bactrian camel - Funky D / shutterstock.com
Quechua man & Llama pack - Mark Green / shutterstock.com
Hunter and his two pack llamas melissamn / shutterstock.com
Media & Attribution
Unless stated above, all still images are used under license from Shutterstock.com. Thank you to everyone who makes their work available for use. Covering all of the wonderful species in these videos would not be possible without your incredible work.
Sources & Further Reading
Listed below are the sources used to create the video.
The Silk Road
www.amnh.org/exhibitions/trav...
www.thoughtco.com/silk-road-1...
whc.unesco.org/en/list/1442/
depts.washington.edu/silkroad...
Bactrian camel
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/how-do...
www.nationalgeographic.com/an...
www.britannica.com/animal/Bac...
www.britannica.com/place/Gobi...
animaldiversity.org/accounts/...
Wild Bactrian camel
www.wildcamels.com/
denverzoo.org/animals/bactria...
www.zsl.org/news-and-events/n...
Dromedary/Arabian camel
animaldiversity.org/accounts/...
www.nationalgeographic.com/an...
www.clevelandzoosociety.org/z...
www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/...
www.britannica.com/animal/Ara...
www.britannica.com/sports/cam...
nt.gov.au/environment/animals...
Vicuña
luxurycolumnist.com/the-most-...
www.magazinehorse.com/en/vicuna/
animaldiversity.org/accounts/...
www.britannica.com/animal/vicuna
intracen.org/sites/default/fi...
South American Camelid Taxonomy
repositorio.uchile.cl/handle/...
South American Camelid Distribution
www.researchgate.net/publicat...
Guanaco
www.swoop-patagonia.com/visit...
animaldiversity.org/accounts/...
www.britannica.com/animal/gua...
Alpaca
wisteriasuriranch.com/suri-fi...
alpacabydesignshop.com/blog/t...
www.alpacainfo.com/academy/ab...
Llama
www.montanallamaguides.com/ab...
www.incatrailmachu.com/en/tra...
animaldiversity.org/accounts/...
About Textbook Travel:
Exploring interesting topics and places.
Educational content about the most fascinating elements of our planet and the study surrounding them. Current content includes:
Current content:
Relatives - a series exploring the most fascinating families in the animal kingdom
Wildlife Enthusiast's Guide - a series exploring the wildlife in the world's most spectacular countries
There is currently no upload schedule so please consider turning on all notifications to be notified when a new video is released. Thanks!
Subscribe: tbtrvl.com/subscribe
Website: www.textbooktravel.com
#textbooktravel #animals #camel
Happy New Year! Just a quick note: I’m honestly not sure if the footage in the wild Bactrian camel section is of the actual wild camel. I only used footage listed as “wild camel” but given how rare this animal is, I wouldn’t be surprised if some/all of the footage was of feral domestic Bactrian camels. I usually wouldn’t use footage I wasn’t sure of but I wanted to give this species the attention it deserves, so at the very least, I’ve used media without ropes, ear tags or other signs of domestication in order to extend the length of this section past a couple of sentences.
Hey @Textbooktravel, I am want wish you a happy new year. My name is Harish Ragavan and I have a request which is may you please make a video about the elephant, hyrax,dugong, manatee and their relatives which are the afrotheria since it's educational and informative for your viewers and watches.
Good choice imo. The difference is more inside the camel, than the outside. If I understood it correctly.
Hello we provide subtitle services we will provide you complete file with matching timing,you can simply upload and enjoy and we will send you 1 free sample as a gift.
Also, the fact that they always look like they're smiling makes them all even more endearing.
7:20 I like that you included this detail. The artisans and also those that shear the animal, in their home countries, barely get the same amount of profit compared to where they are shipped.
Don't u just love Camels? Weird mammals are truly the best type of animals. Anteaters, Ardvarks, porcupines, civets, eye eye, skunks, armadillos etc. All awesome
The pink fairy armadillo, desmans, hyraxes, pangolins, babirusas, saigas… the list goes on
Solenodons, sengis, chevrotains, bats, opossums, sugar gliders, echidnas, vizcachas, kinkajous, sloths, okapis, lemurs, probiscis monkeys, siamangs, uakaris, mandrills, orangutans, and even us!
In the Medieval ages camels were considered the ships of the desert. They were imperative in trans-Saharan trading, journeys, and highly valued by North African cultures. Camels were crucial to the Mali Empire, one of the largest and wealthiest kingdoms documented which relied heavily on trans-Saharan trading. Anywho, I've never heard of vicunas or knew llamas played such a significant role in Inca society! How interesting! Thank you!
the range of distribution of the camelids are really impressive, just like their endurance
Its a really good video but the pronunciation of guanaco, alpaca and Chile KILLED ME
Funny that you dropped this now, I was just on a camelid research spree the past few days. I still find it fascinating how they originated in North america, and their niche is still practically vacant here; maybe we should look into introducing some camels or llamas to fill those niches here?
Probably not the best idea. The last camelid species more than likely inhabited shrubland and grasslands of North America, which today less than 5 percent are left. If we introduce a non native species, it could do further harm than good to the native flora and fauna we have left. Edit* I looked into it further, and it seems like the range the Camelids of North America was primarily the Western half of North America during the later part of the Pleistocene. Back about 18-11,000 years ago, that half of the country was dominated by Temperate open woodlands, Temperate scrub-land, and Temperate semi-deserts. As the glaciers receded, the west started to get drier and the forests were replaced by semi-deserts and short grasslands. The biomes and niches they inhabited no longer really exists due to climate change after the end of the ice age. The only biome that has stayed relatively consistent is the grasslands in the middle of the country, which they could have lived in. But as I've said much of it gone due human habitation and agriculture, and extant native fauna are far more valuable when it comes to the preservation of our grasslands.
The Laurasiatheria superorder as a whole did originate exclusively from North America before existing anywhere else in the world.
These videos are really nice. They're , peaceful, and educational
A highly important educational KZhead channel. Thank you for your time and effort in making these videos.
They play a crucial role in caring for these magnificent creatures, contributing to their well-being and often preserving cultural practices tied to camel husbandry. Their dedication ensures these animals thrive and continue to be a part of our world's heritage
I love this channel - it brings me peace and infotainment in all sorts of moments. Thank you!
Never knew so many distinctions & differentiations in camels. They are so patient & enduring. Thank you for the insight 🐪🐫🦙
7:27 lol I see you, good tie-in to the picture
I love your videos! Never disappointing. I just wish you could post more often but I understand that it takes time, this is just a wish not a complaint ❤ have a great year and keep bringing us more information about other living creatures… How about some birds?
Great video and descriptions, was about to learn about alpacas and stumbled upon the video. Keep making these educative contents.
Great. Now i want a camel. Particularly the bactrian, because it already has a saddle built in.
This channel is the best discovery I made in 2023
Outstanding video! Very thorough, interesting and informative. High quality images and colors. Thanks!
This was so very interesting I enjoyed it immensely. Thank you
Very, very well-done! Thank you.
Nice video once again!
Excellent video! Thank you
What an outstanding video
Excellent video 😊
While the camels in Australia r an invasive species, they aren’t nearly as bad as most invaders of the land down under. Their lack of hooves makes them better than horses for travelling thru the soft soil of the outback without damaging the terrain. The real problem is that the environment isn’t built to support a large grazer, hence y the kangaroo was the biggest until humans arrived. Some people have kinda just accepted them as being part of the wildlife now, kinda like dingos, they have an impact back aren’t destroying the ecosystem the way rats, n cane toads r doing across the continent
not really, before humans there were much larger animals in mainland Australia, much akin to the large mammals and reptiles of Africa, like lions and tall browsers, except in marsupial form. Camels are really just filling the ecological niche that’s currently empty
Great video!
there is something I want to say that is I love your videos and I want you to keep on making these beautiful videos about animals❤🐫🐪
I love these videos, but you have to make a video on every deer species man
Wonderful video
Love the new video on mammals❤please could you do a video on Suina or Suidae and Tayassuidae😊
You should know that the Suina infraorder is split into the superfamilies Tayassuoidea for the families †Doliochoeridae and Tayassuidae (Peccaries) and Suoidea for the families †Sanitheriidae and Suidae (Pigs).
Great channel btw! I love animals. Thing that can give chill when world is on fire
Very interesting. I didn't realise until now quite how weird camels are
Bactrian Camel 1:26 Dromedary Camel 4:28 Alpacas/Llamas 10:19
i was on a camel there walking is like jogging speed also there less boney than horses fells like ir on a bunk bed
7:06 Sad but true. The only way for an animal to guarantee its existence, is to provide something to humans that makes them more valuable alive then dead.
"camels are known flfor their docile nature" I mean, compared to what? I suppose they are docile compared to a bear, but the stereotype ive always heard is that they are nasty. Lol
I worked with llamas and alpacas for ten years and like any animal they all have their individual personalities that are shaped by their genetics and experiences, and some were not the greatest to work with. However, that was a very tiny fraction of the animals I worked with and met. Most were amazingly social animals who loved being around people. You’d have to really piss them off to get spit on (or you were unlucky and got caught in the crossfire of a dispute between two animals).
@@azulimarill ok. You will agree though, that this is not the stereotype right?
Llamas and alpacas are lovely. Camels. . . In real life, they always seem put out and displeased to be wherever here is. Suffering in silence until that final straw that will send them over the edge. If an alpaca were put out by me, I’d apologize and feel bad for upsetting it. A camel I wouldn’t interact with to begin with.
9:21 i NEED a backstory for this stock footage oh my god
Camels love to dance 🎶
Hello do something also about himans
There are so many different ungulate families- camelids, deer, antelope, goats, sheep, cattle, giraffes, okapis, pigs, hippos, horses, rhinos, tapirs, and some that are in their own genus, like pronghorn antelope and mouse deer- and they are all endearing in their own ways!
please do one on antelope, or at least the spiral horned one
Llamas have been in trail in the IDF to help special forces carry more equipments but the army decided that the animals were too lazy and unpredictable and the llamas retired to a ranch with their military ranks
camels 🐪 used to be the size of a giraffe 🦒 once pls compare lama more to camels my favourite is the mongolian camel
Please do the types of wild pigs next
CAMEL LOREEE
The order Artiodactyla is now correctly know as Cetartiodactyla, because Artiodactyla excludes Cetacea and cetaceans evolved from a ancestor in Artiodactyla, so the way clades work it's Cetartiodactyla not Artiodactyla. No offence, just correcting the orders name because I love mammals❤😊
Did you mention that the Dromedary camel has been extinct in the wild for over 2000 years?
can you do lizards and turtles and other birds next
Seven😮, I thought they were just two, with one or two humps
Happy new year!!! Thanks for being a great ambassador for nature conservation.
Thank you so much! All the best for 2024! 😊
What a wonderful video! I just had a friend-break up, kind of, and I needed something to take my mind off it all. This helped me with that! Now I just gotta see something else!
@@be.prepared.to.do.that. Thank you!
Seriously, im just curious, why did you comment this? Be honest with me please if you can.
@@rankcascade9627Are you insinuating that I wasn't honest in my first comment? I wrote my comment because that is what happened and I wanted to show my appreciation to the channel for providing what I consider comfort content and when I wrote this I was in a high need of such comfort content. A video about cute fluffy animals can get almost anyone in a better mood, so yeah, I was happier after having watched the video and I wanted to say that. Is there anything wrong with that? Why did YOU write YOUR comment? Be honest with me please if you can.
Do more videos on domestic animals
Camels are known for being DOCILE?? News-to-me! Camels have a unique reputation. I found your pronunciation of camelid interesting. (I pronounce that word "camel-lid".)
Members of the family Camelidae are officially called camels, there are in fact known to be six living camel species: the Vicuna (Vicugna vicugna), the Alpaca (Vicugna pacos), the Guanaco (Lama guanicoe), the Llama (Lama glama), the Dromedary (Camelus dromedarius), and the Bactrian Camel (Oreocamelus bactrianus).
@@indyreno2933 The wild Bactrian is now considered a separate species.
@Svensk7119, nope, Oreocamelus ferus is a junior synonym of Oreocamelus bactrianus, therefore, the wild and domestic bactrian camels are actually the same species, the Bactrian Camel (Oreocamelus bactrianus) has now only two valid subspecies: the Gobi Camel (Oreocamelus bactrianus bactrianus) and the Kunlun Shan Camel (Oreocamelus bactrianus kunlunshanensis) with the domestic bactrian camel being a population of the gobi camel (Oreocamelus bactrianus bactrianus).
@@indyreno2933 When was this? They just barely split the Bactrians yesterday! Metaphorically speaking.
@Svensk7119, there are only two valid subspecies of Bactrian Camel (Oreocamelus bactrianus): the Gobi Camel (Oreocamelus bactrianus bactrianus) and the Kunlun Shan Camel (Oreocamelus bactrianus kunlunshanensis), just like there are only two valid subspecies of Yak (Poephagus grunniens): the Himalayan Yak (Poephagus grunniens grunniens) and the Kunlun Shan Yak (Poephagus grunniens kunlunshanensis) and only two valid subspecies of Asiatic Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis): the Indian Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis bubalis) and the Southeast Asian Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis hosei), it's very much like the Leopard (Panthera pardus) being now split into only four valid subspecies: the African Leopard (Panthera pardus pardus), the South Asian Leopard (Panthera pardus fusca), the North Asian Leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis), and the †European Leopard (Panthera pardus spelaea) and the Puma (Puma concolor) being split only into two valid subspecies: the Nearctic Puma (Puma concolor couguar) and the Neotropical Puma (Puma concolor concolor), the domestic bactrian camel is a population of the Gobi Camel (Oreocamelus bactrianus bactrianus), the domestic yak is a population of the Himalayan Yak (Poephagus grunniens grunniens), and the domestic water buffalo is a population of the Indian Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis bubalis).
Fres lkie 🇾🇪🇾🇪🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸2024
🇮🇱❤️
I bought a packet of Arabian sweets from the supermarket yesterday! One of the most delicious things I have eaten. Happy New Year!
Question from someone not native to the english launguage: I would have thought that "pack-animal" would refer to animals living in packs. Like wolves and hyenas. According to my dictionary the word for a animal that carries stuff is (primarly) Beast of Burden, as well as carrier and some other words. What is an animal living in packs called? Is Pack Animal really correct to use as synonym with Beast of Burden? Perhaps there are regional differences...english is a geographically large language.
"Pack animal" is the term for beast of burden. The term would actually be "pack hunter" if you are referring to animals like wolves.
@@NebulaRanger Thanks for clarifieing!
Why does the range at the southern tip of South America follow the border between Chile and Argentina?
So, no one's gonna talk about the llama in the meeting room?
the good
Wonderful and informative video as always from @Textbooktravel. Thank you. All the very best for 2024
Thanks so much! All the best to you too 😊
Remarkably, like horses, camelids first evolved in North America but became extinct there after they dispersed into Eurasia and South America. Possibly the earliest North Americans killed them off before they discovered how to tame and ride them.
Camels are so derpy yeah definitely "docile"
I would love to crossbreed a Dromedary with a wild Bactrian to benefit off that salt water drinking ability
The raw fiber price is body dependent. The dirty belly isn't ever top dollar. Staple (length) is important too. Are you quoting unwashed wool? Rovings? Those prices are not much above the best raw washed alpaca roving. You're also incorrect it is the most expensive fiber. The most expensive is the genetically modified goats with spider protein milk, which is separated somehow into silk. Second would be natural spider silk. Third might be lotus silk.
Camels DOCILE? Alright, they're not as absolutely stand offish and kickoffish as zebras, but they are infamous for their Attitude. I saw an entire wonderful film once of a man trekking around Asia. At least that is what it was meant to be about. But it ended up devoted entirely to his struggles with his camel. A lovely great big shaggy bactrian camel. It refused to do anything. It refused to carry so much as a pair of socks, and every single time he got his camera out to record, it ambled over and vomited copiously all over the camera and the man. Indeed, that was the only time or place it would ever vomit. He realized that to get the camel to walk in the direction he wanted, he needed to pretend he wanted to go the other way. Though it cottoned onto that after a bit and simply sat down. One day it just ran off. But then it came back. He was sort of relieved. Till he realized it was only because he had his camera out, so the camel had come back to do one final farewell vomit on the camera.
Wa-na-ko - Guanaco
Alpaca'n heat mf!
Camel toe 3:01 😂
If anyone thinks they have ugly toenails. Then show them the Bactrian Camel's toenails. I'm pretty sure they'll change their minds. 😂
Actually, there are just six extant camel species: the Vicuna (Vicugna vicugna), the Alpaca (Vicugna pacos), the Guanaco (Lama guanicoe), the Llama (Lama glama), the Dromedary (Camelus dromedarius), and the Bactrian Camel (Oreocamelus bactrianus), they all belong to four separate genera based solely on morphology, the wild and domestic bactrian camel are actually the same species, which therefore makes Oreocamelus ferus a junior synonym of Oreocamelus bactrianus, the Bactrian Camel (Oreocamelus bactrianus) is now thought to be split into only two valid subspecies: the Gobi Camel (Oreocamelus bactrianus bactrianus) and the Kunlun Shan Camel (Oreocamelus bactrianus kunlunshanensis), with the domestic bactrian camel being a population of the Gobi Camel (Oreocamelus bactrianus bactrianus), the Dromedary (Camelus dromedarius) is now thought to be split into four subspecies: the Persian Camel (Camelus dromedarius persicus), the Arabian Camel (Camelus dromedarius arabicus), the Egyptian Camel (Camelus dromedarius aegyptiacus), and the Barbary Camel (Camelus dromedarius dromedarius), all six living camel species belong to a single extant subfamily, which is Camelinae, which therefore makes Camelinae the only subfamily of camels (family Camelidae) alive today, the subfamily Camelinae (Modern Camels) is split into two tribes: Lamini (Modern Humpless Camels) and Camelini (Humped Camels), while both camel genera Vicugna (Vicuna and Alpaca) and Lama (Guanaco and Llama) belong to the Lamini tribe, the two genera are still only distantly related, similarly, both the genera Camelus (Modern One-Humped Camels) and Oreocamelus (Two-Humped Camels) belong to the Camelini tribe, but they are also still only distantly related, as there are fossil genera within the Lamini tribe that are more closely related to the Vicugna genus than Vicugna is to Lama and fossil genera that are more closely related to the Lama genus than Lama is to Vicugna and fossil genera within the Camelini tribe that are more closely related to the Camelus genus than Camelus is to Oreocamelus and fossil genera that are more closely related to the Oreocamelus genus than Oreocamelus is to Camelus, like the bactrian camel, the extinct knobloch's camel and siwalik camel have two humps, thus including both fossil species in the genus Oreocamelus, with their scientific names now being Oreocamelus knoblochi and Oreocamelus sivalensis respectively, there are very many major differences between all four extant camel genera, for within the Lamini tribe, the differences between the genera Vicugna and Lama are that all species in the Vicugna genus have short snouts while all members of the Lama genus have longer snouts, whereas for within the Camelini tribe, the differences between the genera Camelus and Oreocamelus are that all members of the Camelus genus have only one hump while all members of the Oreocamelus genus have two humps.
🏆 That’s one of the longest sentences I've ever read in a youtube comment. The whole comment is basically one long sentence. Now we can breathe.🧘
@@MladenSpasinoviciMusicLibrary Moreover, this poster (Indy Reno) frequently posts taxonomic misinformation and stubbornly. Ignores criticism. Disregard what he writes.
@Dr.Ian-Plect, this is not misinformation, there are six extant camel species under four genera: the Vicuna (Vicugna vicugna), the Alpaca (Vicugna pacos), the Guanaco (Lama guanicoe), the Llama (Lama glama), the Dromedary (Camelus dromedarius), and the Bactrian Camel (Oreocamelus bactrianus).
@@indyreno2933 Yet again, you fail to comprehend a sentence.
Never trust anything that Indyreno2933 says, for every thing that is currently accepted by zoologists, they make 10 other claims that are outdated, fringe ideas not accepted by most researchers, or completely made up. A simple check of actual reliable sources will show that so much of what they say is downright wrong. Even Wikipedia is a far more reliable resource.
Another difference between guanacos and vicuñas is that guanacos have black faces while vicuñas have brown faces
Surprisingly, there are four extant genera of camels (family Camelidae), which are Vicugna, Lama, Camelus, and Oreocamelus, the Vicugna genus contains two extant species: the Vicuna (Vicugna vicugna) and the Alpaca (Vicugna pacos), the Lama genus contains two extant species: the Guanaco (Lama guanicoe) and the Llama (Lama glama), the Camelus genus contains only one extant species: the Dromedary (Camelus dromedarius), and the Oreocamelus genus contains only one extant species: the Bactrian Camel (Oreocamelus bactrianus).
I thought dromedary camels are larger
Yee
It is pronounced guanáco
There are only four species of camelids. Wild and domestic bactrian are the same, and llamas and alpacas are just domesticated guanacos and vicuñas. Domestication doesn't create a new species.
The Dromedary Camel is a National Animal of Eritrea. 🏀🐪🇪🇷🥛🏜️🏙️🪐💙⭐️❤️🎶🛻
Interesting video but the poor pronunciation is a huge distraction.
Qurbani
STOP, STOP. That's [CAM-el-ids] not [cam-EL-ids].
they are the same