So I will admit that this post is largely motivated by my newfound love of Bactrian Camels, however, I genuinelly think it is a very interesting possibility. These animal can stand temperatures between -40 and 40 degrees Celsius, and are one of the only animals known to eat snow as part of their water intake, which they are forced to do duringg the winter due to the fact that temperatures rise so abruptly during the day that the snow sublimates (goes from ice to gas without becoming water first). They also grow a very thick fur while in cold weather, which also serves the purpose of making them look super adorable.
What if through the eastern trade routes or the arrival of some eastern military force into the area bactrian camels become a common enough sight for a Kievan ruler to decide to undertake the intentional breeding of some herds of camels? Would they have been adopted as part of the local domestic fauna? How far north into the Rus' territory would coud they have spread? Could they have become endemic to what is today northwestern Russia and the Baltics? What about Scandinavia? Finnally, do you think they could have been given a proper military use, and how would it have evolved throught the centuries?
I don't know about you, but the image of a scale or mail-clad camels ridden by Cossaks is both ridiculously cool, and extreamly hilarious.
What if through the eastern trade routes or the arrival of some eastern military force into the area bactrian camels become a common enough sight for a Kievan ruler to decide to undertake the intentional breeding of some herds of camels? Would they have been adopted as part of the local domestic fauna? How far north into the Rus' territory would coud they have spread? Could they have become endemic to what is today northwestern Russia and the Baltics? What about Scandinavia? Finnally, do you think they could have been given a proper military use, and how would it have evolved throught the centuries?
I don't know about you, but the image of a scale or mail-clad camels ridden by Cossaks is both ridiculously cool, and extreamly hilarious.