thumb|upright=1.3<!--size for lead image-->|[[Packhorse|Horse packing with traditional Australian pack saddle]]

A pack animal, also known as a sumpter animal or beast of burden, is a working animal used to transport goods or materials by carrying them, usually on its back.

Domestic animals of many species are used in this way, among them alpacas, Bactrian camels, donkeys, dromedaries, gaur, goats, horses, llamas, mules, reindeer, water buffaloes and yaks.

Diversity

Traditional pack animals include ungulates such as camels, the domestic yak, reindeer, goats, water buffaloes, and llama, and domesticated members of the horse family including horses, donkeys, and mules. Occasionally, dogs can be used to carry small loads.

Pack animals by region

  • Arctic – reindeer and sled dogs
  • Central Africa and Southern Africa – oxen, mules, donkeys
  • Eurasia – donkeys, oxen, horses, mules
  • Central Asia – Bactrian camels, yaks, horses, mules, donkeys
  • South and Southeast Asia – water buffaloes, yaks, Asian elephants
  • North America – horses, mules, donkeys, goats
  • North Africa and Middle East – dromedaries, horses, donkeys, mules, oxen
  • Oceania – donkeys, horses, dromedaries, mules, oxen
  • South America – llamas, donkeys, mules

<gallery mode="packed" widths="150px">

File:Eylcamel.jpg|A nomad's pack camel in Eyl, Somalia

File:Reindeer and pack, with Lapp driver.jpg|Pack reindeer with Sami driver from The land of the midnight sun<!-- : summer journeys through Sweden, Norway, Lapland and Northern Finland-->, c. 1881

File:Fleischextrakt 0002773 m.jpg|1900 advertisement showing pack yaks in Tibet

File:Lloyd the Llama.jpg|Pack llama, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Bimanees met lastkarbouwen Res. Timor Soembawa TMnr 10013888.jpg|Pack water buffalo, Sumbawa, Indonesia, early 20th century

File:Pack donkeys, Bucks Mills, Devon.jpg|Pack donkeys, Devon, England, c. 1906

</gallery>

Uses

thumb|upright|[[Middle Ages|Medieval pack horse and donkey in Hortus Deliciarum, Europe, 12th century, when packing was a major means of transport of goods]]

thumb| [[US Marines training in resupply with pack mules. Bridgeport, California, 2014]]

Hauling of goods in wagons with horses and oxen gradually displaced the use of packhorses, which had been important until the Middle Ages, by the sixteenth century.

Pack animals may be fitted with pack saddles and may also carry saddlebags. Alternatively, a pair of weighted materials (often placed symmetrically) are called panniers.

While traditional usage of pack animals by nomadic tribespeople is declining, a new market is growing in the tourist expeditions industry in regions such as the High Atlas mountains of Morocco, allowing visitors the comfort of backpacking with animals.

In the 21st century, special forces have received guidance on the use of horses, mules, llamas, camels, dogs, and elephants as pack animals.

Load carrying capacity

The maximum load for a camel is roughly .

Yaks are loaded differently according to region. In Sichuan, is carried for in 6 hours. In Qinghai, at altitude, packs of up to are routinely carried, while up to is carried by the heaviest steers for short periods.

Llamas can carry roughly a quarter of their body weight, so an adult male of can carry some .

Loads for equids are disputed. The US Army specifies a maximum of 20 percent of body weight for mules walking up to a day in mountains, giving a load of up to about . However an 1867 text mentioned a load of up to . In India, the prevention of cruelty rules (1965) limit mules to and ponies to .

Reindeer can carry up to for a prolonged period in mountains.

See also

  • Pack station
  • Camel train
  • Arriero

References

  • Llama Backpacking Documentary produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting