Cama, unique animal in the world !!

The cama is therefore the product of the hybridization of a small Latin American camelid and a camel from the Near East, since the feat took place in Dubai in 1998 at the research center on the reproduction of camelids. Only 5 were created.

There exists in this world a unique animal, conceived by man and born of his technical imagination. Undoubtedly, it is a camelid, since the father and the mother are both of this family. But where the originality points is that the mother is a guanaco lama and the dad a camel.

The "technical" mom is Julian Skidmore. She managed this difficult hybridization by artificial insemination after many unsuccessful attempts. This technical feat which allowed the meeting between the old and the new world (unimaginable in the nature !!) was possible because lama and dromedary (that 30 million years separate on the taxonomic level) have the same number of chromosomes and, despite this geographical and historical remoteness, preserved a remarkable degree of conservation of cross-breeding capacity.

Hybridization in camelids is a common practice: the hybridization between Bactrian camel and camel is very commonplace in Central Asia, along the ancient Silk Road. The Turkoman hybrid has a large, slightly subdivided hump. This practice makes it possible to associate the hardiness of the camel with the stamina and dairy quality of the camel. But hybridization with the llama is a world first.

Rama, the first cama

This project was led by Professor Julian A. Skidmore and funded by the Crown Prince of Dubai and the Minister of Defense of the United Arab Emirates.
It should be noted that Julian A. Skidmore is also at the origin of the first cloning of a dromedary. Injaz was born on April 8, 2009.

This project was funded for the sole purpose of cloning champions who are no longer old enough to reproduce. Indeed, many dromedary races are organized in this region.

Rama's father weighed 450 kg while his mother weighed only 75 kg. This difference in weight has forced scientists to use artificial insemination.
This problem of size and weight ratio is at the origin of the rarity of the tigron, a hybrid born of a male tiger and a lioness
At birth, Rama was no bigger than a calf. He was a male.
The objective is to create a camelid that is stronger than a llama and more docile than a dromedary, known for its strong character.

Hybridization between camelids

This hybridization is practiced between the Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus) and the camel.
This practice is even more common in countries where both species coexist.
it is for the man to obtain an animal bringing together the qualities of the two species namely the robustness of the camel and the high milk productivity of the dromedary.
Hybrids are fertile.

Watch by video the unique animal: "cama"

source: https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/photos/11-amazing-hybrid-animals/camas