Estimates of methane emission from the

camel (Camelius dromedarius) compared

to dairy cattle (Bos taurus)

Guerouali, A. and Laabouri, F.

Hassan II Agronomic and Veterinary Institute,

Rabat, Morocco

Plan of the presentation

• General information about the camel population

• Adaptation to desert environment and nutrients

requirementrequirement

• The bad news about the camel population of

Australia

• Mesurements of methane emission in the camel

compared to dairy cattle

• Data discussion and conclusion

-Heat Stress Tolerance

-Body temperature

-No water in the hump but energy

-Body temperature

variation (36 to 42 °C)

-Huge water intake

when dehydrated

Variations in water requirements in camel and cattle with

respect to environmental temperature

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----Species Water requirements Urine losses Water requirements

at 15 °C at 15°C at 30°C --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dairy cattle 40 l/d 25 l/d 120 l/d

Lactating camel 10 l/d 4 l/d 20 l/d

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-Digestive trial in

the field and

Indirect

calorimetry with calorimetry with

face mask

Energy requirements for maintenance and growth

in the camel compared to sheep and cattle

• ENERGY REQUIREMENT FOR MAINTENANCE OF CAMEL

MEm = 306 KJ/ kg0.75(camel) →→→→ 1kg of DM/100kg LBW

MEm = 380 KJ/ kg0.75(sheep) 25% higher

MEm = 440 kj/ kg0.75(cattle) 45% higherMEm = 440 kj/ kg0.75(cattle) 45% higher

• EFFICIENCY OF ENERGY UTILIZATION FOR GROWTH

Kf = 61% (camel)

Kf = 56% (sheep) Inferior by 18%

Kf = 42% (cattle) Inferior by 31%

Kill a camel to stop pollution? That is precisely what Australia is considering.

The suggestion came from Northwest Carbon Pty Ltd (Tim Moore, 2010) to

Australian Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency (ADCCEE).

Considering the camel one of the country's biggest greenhouse gas

emitters, the Northwest company proposed the shooting of camels

from a helicopter or rounding them up and send them to a

slaughterhouse.

To measure for the first time methane emissions in the

camel

As scientists working on camel physiology and

concerned with animal welfare and protection, we

developed this study with an objective: dealing with

animal welfare and protection, we developed a trial

To compare them to methane emissions in dairy cattle receiving

the same diet expressed in:

- liter/day

- liter/kg of dry matter intake.

x 7Average Body Weight = 409 kgs

Dry and non pregnante animals

8-13 years

Animals used in the experimentation

x 7Average Body Weight = 441 kgs

8 -10 years

Dry and non pregnante animals

Feeding Ration used in the trial:

3 kgs of lucerne hay3 kgs of lucerne hay

2 kgs of barley grains

Free access to water

4.5 kgs of DMI

Figure 1: The face mask system used to measure methane emission in camel and dairy cow

Figure 2: a camel wearing a mask for measurement of methane

emission shown with a companion to reduce the stress on the

experimental animal .

Camel

Figure 3: Methane emissions in dairy cattle and its variations over time (5mm/min)

Figure 4: Methane emissions in camel and its variations over time (5mm/min)

Methane emission in the camel

An average of 18 eructation

cycles per hour, covering 90%

of the methane produced.

While the rest of the

methane produced (10%) ismethane produced (10%) is

emitted through respiration

Camels Methane Production

(liters/day)

Methane Production

(liters/kg of DMI)

1 52,75 12,04

2 77,24 17,63

Table 1: Estimates of methane production in seven camels expressed in

liters per day and in liters per kg of dry matter intake

2 77,24 17,63

3 57,67 13,16

4 73,81 16,85

5 72,82 16,62

6 62,39 14,24

7 69,74 15,92

Mean 66,63 15,20

Deviation Standards 8,47 1,93

Vache

An average of 54 eructation

cycles per hour, covering 85%

of the methane produced.

Methane emission in dairy cattle

While the rest of the methane

produced (15%) is emitted

through respiration

Table 2: Estimates of methane production in seven dairy cows expressed

in liters per day and in liters per kg of dry matter intake

Dairy cows Methane Production

(liters/day)

Methane Production

(liters/kg of DMI)

1 148,75 33,961 148,75 33,96

2 157,82 36,03

3 303,06 69,19

4 200,10 45,68

5 219,27 35,82

6 159,90 36,50

7 167,46 38,23

Mean 193,76 42,20

Deviation Standards 50,41 11,56

Some digestive and metabolic particularities in camel may

explain this difference in methane production:

The camel has lower feed intake with smaller forestomach

made of tree compartments only.

Différente strains of bacteria and less protozoa in the

digestive tract.

Higher buffering capacity for acids in the rumen but very

high sensitivity to urea feeding.

Higher level of glycemia (1.5 g/l) compared to horses (1g/l)

and cattle (.5 g/l). The importance of VFA in the glucide

metabolism of the camel.

Lower production of acetate in camel compared to cattle

with tha same diet .

digestive tract.

Methane production was measured in camel and dairy cattle receiving

the same diet and the data indicated that dairy cattle produce three

times more methane that camel

conclusions

Some digestive and metabolic particularities of each species may

explain the difference

Other solutions to reduce the green house gases should be proposed

than the eradication of the camel population of Australia.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION