Camel racing catches on in southern Russia

The Astrakhan region has become the centre of a new craze sweeping southern Russian – camel racing. The region is home to thousands of double-humped camels, the biggest of their kind in the world, and camel racing competitions have already bee

The animals are farmed for their meat, wool and milk.

“Camel wool is considered to be therapeutic. The milk also cures different diseases, cancers and tubercular conditions in particular,” said camel farmer Kubaydulla Baytemirov.

Camel racing is popular in Arab countries and Australia, where it is a favourite among tourists.

The unique Astrakhan event different is that the animals are wild and not specially bred for racing.

The preparation begins a week before the competition, when a rider chooses a wild camel suitable for the race and starts to train it. The rider's toughest task is coping with a wild animal which might get frisky when confronted by crowds.

The founder of the race is the governor of the Astrakhan region, Aleksander Zhilkin, who aims to draw attention to an agricultural branch of camel farming that may be profitable in the future.

“What we have to do is build a good race track and watch the competition, because we are not dealing with horses. Various mishaps may happen here.  For example, today a camel refused to run. It’s interesting to watch,” Mr Zhilkin said. 

And these animals, known as the ships of the desert, which have been used for centuries could be a significant agricultural resource in the future.