These animals are examples of the Arvana breed of dromedary camels. This breed was developed in Turkmenistan thousands of years ago. For the nomadic Turkoman population living in the Kara-Kum desert, the Arvana has been the only animal supplying milk, meat, wool and transportation for almost a millennia. Rock drawings of one-humped camels, probably domesticated, have been found in the northwest foothills of the Sultan-Uizdag in northern Turkmenistan in the settlement of Byash-Tyube which dates to 3000-1500 BC. Some rock drawings in the Chendir ravine on the western slopes of the Kopet-Dag in southwest Turkmenistan depict domesticated dromedaries and riders and date to the beginning of our current era. The possibility that dromedaries were independently domesticated in Turkmenistan and Arabia 5000-6000 years ago cannot be excluded.
The Arvana is typically a milk yielding, pack carrying and smooth-riding breed of the camel. The present-day qualities have been archived by long selection: special attention was paid to the use of sires out of high milk yielding females. Arvanas have the highest milk yield of all breeds in the world.
Arvana dromedaries are reared in all parts of Turkmenistan, as well as in Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and southern districts of Kazakhstan. They are also found in Turkey, northern Iran and Afghanistan, where they may have been introduced by the Turkmen migrants in the 12th century during the conquest of these countries by the Seljuks.
Arvana camels are not adapted to severe winters. In zones of high humidity, they are susceptible to parasitic blood diseases and helminthiases and are defenceless against bloodsucking insects.
Arvana camels are early maturing. They reach maturity before the age of two years. The females are mated when they reach three years of age and have a live weight of 350-400 kg. Males are used for service from 4-5 to 15-16 years of age. Breeding is restricted to the season from January to April. The gestation period is, on average, 385 days and the females give birth about every two years. Shortening the calving interval as practised in Turkmenia makes possible two calves in three years.