Transportation of human beings and luggage with the help of animals has been used extensively since the dawn of human history.Motorized vehicles are costly to maintain as they require fuel which can be in the form of diesel, gas, or biofuel so that they keep running. On the other hand, animals only need water and grass supply for making them move with your baggage.You can depend on animals as your mode of transportation. It is true that animals need rest when they get tired but humans also need that. They are more agile than motorized vehicles and can travel through rough terrain which might be difficult for gas vehicles. The use of fuel-powered vehicles for transportation purposes has been popular only in the last hundred years but animals have helped to transport objects for a long time before that.Human beings have always relied on some form of creature to move around themselves or their belongings. It must be said though that animals have been used mainly for short-range traveling. Some animals might carry diseases and it is important to regularly check them. Waterways have always been there for the transport of humans and things.Scientific research is done even today to understand how ancient ships could travel for long distances without breakdown. Animals used for plowing like draft horses are draft animals while pack animals are those used for transporting goods and people. Animals like donkeys are further used for carrying a load of clothes since time immemorial.While we can use animals for transportation, we must not overwork them, give them ample rest, feed them properly.Good and supplies were carried by animals and the type of animal for transport sometimes depends on the climatic conditions. An example might be given here of camels who have been used from historic times in arid regions of the desert. The use of animals can be traced back to the prehistoric era of 9000 B.C.If you enjoy going through this article and want to see similar articles like this, do check out these articles on animals in Iceland and animals in the Arctic Ocean.Oxen And Other BovinesThe use of bovines like oxen and buffalo to pull carts full of people and goods is a very common sight in many villages across the world. Farmers have made use of domesticated bovines for plowing the field and for going to the market to sell the crops.Bovines are one of the primary sources of milk and meat in a number of cultures. The large size of the animals enables human beings to attach objects such as plows and carts to them. You can think of bovines as living, giant fermentation vats. The presence of four stomachs with the bacterial workforce changes even the lowest quality of grass into protein and fuel.Most other animals face the problem of low-quality feed. Take horses for instance. You can feed them chaff the whole day but still, they might not gain enough protein for survival, transportation of goods comes much later. On the contrary, bovines such as oxen may eat leaves of trees, dried hay, chaff, or the mash that is left behind after brewing alcohol. They can almost consume any plant-based matter which is not much poisonous and lead a long life.The fact that oxen are not frightened of humans makes it easier for them to be used. They are efficient and useful as well as large animals. These have been used a lot for overland cargo hauling and transportation just because people found them nearby. The bovine creature even is used in rough terrain but it comes at a price: speed.Carts that are drawn by oxen are one of the slowest transportation methods, sometimes even slower than the speed of walking. But it must be remembered that these animals were used in the American Old West for pulling wagons because the oxen are better than mules and horses and can endure travel.In mountain regions, people use yaks for not only transport of goods across steep mountain passes but also for trekking and climbing expeditions. Yaks have a lot of stamina and it is well adapted to long-distance travel.Donkeys And MulesDonkeys are well known for their endurance and sure-footedness. These handy small animals are used by people to ride down through rocky terrain. They have the capability to choose their way without falling down.If you have time on your hands, you can ride these small animals quite conveniently. The endurance abilities of donkeys is immense and they can even be used to look after the herd of animals of a farmer. Their protective nature comes into hindsight when you see them not backing down when a wolf or coyote attacks your flock of sheep for preying on them. While fighting the wild animal, a donkey can be seen making full use of its teeth and hooves to kill it. When it senses an intruder, a donkey lets out a bray to alert the owner.Small donkey pulled carts are familiar sights in some places around the world. They only lack speed. Being of small size, donkeys do not need much food to travel and it might seem that it can go on forever. These might even be used as a form of a companion animal for mules and horses.If you combine the stubbornness of a donkey and the size of a horse, you will get a mule. Mules were one of humanity’s first ventures into the world of ‘genetic engineering.’ These are infertile animals with 63 chromosomes that are different from the 64 chromosomes of their horse mother and 62 chromosomes of their donkey father.Mule is superior to the donkey but is slower and more stubborn. But these animals are also steady and freakishly strong. They are mild-mannered and more intelligent than horses. Mules are somewhere in the middle of oxen and horses for their transportation capability. Due to this reason, the mule was commonly used as a pack animal until the motorized vehicles replaced it about fifty to a hundred years ago.These animals can be found as means of transport of goods in many places that include parts of rural Latin America, rural China, and the Sierra Nevada mountains in Southwest America. Take note that mules are not suitable for riding but perfectly able to carry heavy loads. If speed is what you want, then horses are better suited for the job. Dogs and mules cannot stand one another and you might come across them kicking their powerful hooves.Donkeys and mules were also used in Greece for the transportations of goods, humans, and almost anything.Llamas And AlpacasClosely related to the camel, llamas, and alpacas reside in the Andes mountains of South America. Llamas have been used as domestic animals for a long time. Llamas and alpacas are not very large animals and are incapable of carrying adult human beings on their backs. But both of them can navigate through the rough terrain of the Andes as pack animals. They are even selectively bred just for this purpose. You can think of llamas as a mid-point between a mountain goat and a camel but having better hair and meat.These are useful animals for transportation due to their ability to carry a huge amount in tough conditions. They are really protective of animals, as well as of the people who look after them. The wool of the llama is used for spinning the yarn that can be further used for trade and stuffing. These South American animals are easier to keep than horses and mules and they do not even eat as much.Horses In The Roman EmpireThe soldiers in the Roman Empire used trained horses as their preferred mode of transportation. But the numbers were less than you would expect. The reason for the lesser number of horses was that both oxen and mules were more efficient than horses for all tasks except specialty transportation. Draft horses were used in wheeled vehicles for riding.The digestive system of the species is less efficient and much smaller than bovines. The problem lay in the logistics rather than the economics since the animal has the need to take rest and eat more than animals like bovine. Even their diet is not as wide in range as that of bovines. In this way, the financial aspect of long-distance travel was more suited for better alternatives than horses.Furthermore, the ancient Roman Empire did not have two of the main inventions that enable horse-related transportation. One is the stirrup that made the animal better suited during times of war. Another is the horse collar that aided them to carry heavy loads. After the invention of the horse collar, the yokes got replaced by them.Yokes worked fine on bovines and are not suitable for horses. The windpipe of a horse gets choked almost when a yoke is used. This is why the people in the ancient Roman Empire had the notion that the animal was less efficient when it came to pulling carts and plowing. The reality was that the species got suffocated under badly designed harnesses. The absence of horseshoes and the small size of the horse breed in ancient times further provide more information as to the lack of horses in the Roman Age.Horses In Other Times And PlacesRiding horses were essential and more efficient in the central Eurasian steppe region. The horse people live well in the region with free grass as food and were also able to pillage non-nomadic neighbors.The technology related to the animal had developed greatly by medieval times. The horses were now of pristine importance to society and to battles. Horse collar was developed alongside larger breeds of horses. Both of these were factors led to the miniature agricultural revolution and now the plowing of fields could be done by horsepower in place of bovine power. In medieval European society, the species became important for their use in breaking through infantry and plowing the fields.The animal was considered a private transportation method used for riding about 100 years ago. Four horses were used to pull one carriage. The speed of horses makes them one of the most sought-after animals. In earlier times, no other overland method of transportation was faster than this species. The highest speed of a domestic horse can be maintained only for about thirty seconds.The horse will then need to rest, eat food, and drink water. These animals are easy to control and they have quick prey instincts. Did you know that horses are the least sleepy mammals requiring only four to five hours of sleep in a day and that horses sleep while standing up? They can be kept in stables for long durations that made them very convenient for knights, farmers, and travelers in medieval times.Horses can be domesticated easily. They are not shocked by the sound of gunshots or the flapping of objects. You know that the animal is good when you are going somewhere in a hurry but they can also be used for pulling carts that are loaded with heavy goods.A gelding or castrated male horse is one of the better horses out there. Stallions or non-castrated males are much more difficult when it comes to training them as they only have two things on their mind, breed and eat. Stallions are territorial animals and cannot be ridden by children or inexperienced people. Mares or female horses tend to be a little moody. A weird fact about the horse is that you can use dried horse manure as fuel for making a fire. A horse with dark hooves is believed to have sturdier feet.The horses can be trained to travel through rocky mountain paths that are narrow. In many places around the world, the police ride on horseback for patrolling some areas. They are used during riots to prevent the protesters from coming forward. Horses during the First World War were the victims of human war. Soldiers used them to move between trenches and barracks. More than eight million horses got killed during the war. In Ancient Japan as well, horses were used as means of transportation. The white horses were donated to temples and shrines in Japan.Did you know?Elephants are one of the smartest animals with a good memory. The first country to have domesticated elephants was India. These large creatures are not only used to travel long distances but can be used to do the heavy lifting of wooden logs. The animal can be trained to uproot trees that block the way.Elephants in Thailand are used to traverse through dense jungles around the cities. Tame elephants can be ridden by anyone. Elephants are well in use during tiger safaris. In the older days, the kings traveled on top of elephants. It was meant to show the power of the king. It is speculated that the animals transported goods a long time ago on the Silk Road.The strength and size of the creatures meant that you could carry a huge quantity of goods at one time. A mahout is the caretaker of an elephant with whom the mammal forms a lifetime bond. The long lifespan of the animal helps it to maintain relationships with humans. They are full of stamina and can run at great speed if the situation demands so.A dog can be considered a means of animal transportation, especially in places with cold climates. A dog sled is a vehicle found in snowy regions. An advantage of sled dogs is that they are very protective of their fellow human. The drawback of dog sleds as a mode of transport is that the sled dogs are suitable only in areas with snow and they are carnivores. Dog sleds are common in Norway. You have to share your meat supply with these dogs.A light dog sled or cart can be pulled by dogs such as huskies that can serve both as a recreational vehicle and a working one. The Arctic Circle makes use of husky dogs that can run quite fast through the snow while pulling humans.Robert Scott and Roald Amundsen used sled dogs while going to the South Pole when they began their expedition in the 1900s. Amundsen reached the place first. If you see husky dogs, chances are that the temperatures are freezing outsides. You have to worry about keeping warm but the sled dogs do not. They have a thick coat of fur to keep them warm. Dogs are the most common domestic pets. Dogs can give guard duty. The dogs are also very friendly to humans. It must be remembered that dogs are not riding animals. Mushing is a term for dog sleds.In the sub-Arctic and Arctic Nordic nations, reindeer are used for transportation. It is also in use in Siberia. When the Second World War was going on, deployment of reindeer transportation battalions was done by the Red Army near the Eastern Front. Russian soldiers use reindeer sleds for training purposes even today.The animal is most famous for pulling the sleigh of Santa Claus during Christmas, thus helping him deliver gifts to children. You will find these creatures in North America as well, used as rides and for carrying goods. The freezing cold temperatures do not bother the animal and they are incredibly sturdy. Reindeers pull ‘pulks’ for transporting luggage. These incredible animals are also known as caribou.Found in desert areas, camels are mostly used in the Middle Eastern countries and in the Sahara Desert in North Africa. These animals can travel for long periods of time without water. The coats of camels protect the skin from the heat of the sun. Camels can carry both humans and goods. Camels are rightly called the ‘Ship of the Desert’.Goats can also pull light carts. But they mainly provide milk and meat for humans.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for animals used for transportation then why not take a look at animals that live in Death Valley, or animals in Iran.
Transportation of human beings and luggage with the help of animals has been used extensively since the dawn of human history.
