Pack animal

Not to be confused with pack hunter.

"Beast of burden" redirects here. For other uses, see Beast of Burden (disambiguation).

Horse packing

A pack animal or beast of burden is a working animal used by humans as means of transporting materials by attaching them so their weight bears on the animal's back; the term may be applied to either an individual animal or a species so employed. The term pack animal is sometimes used in contrast to draft animal, which is a working animal that typically pulls a load behind itself (such as a plow or a wheeled cart) rather than carrying cargo directly on its back.

Many ungulate species are traditional pack animals, including camels, the yak, reindeer, goats, water buffalo and llama, and many of the domesticated Equidae (horse family).

A camel pack animal transporting nomadic materials in Eyl, Somalia.

The term is not routinely applied to humans carrying loads on their backs except to make a pejorative point about the injustice of so employing them, or about the privation that usually occasions accepting such work without explicit coercion. For example, the 1978 Rolling Stones song "Beast of Burden" refers to a sense of abuse, accepted within a romantic relationship. The neutral term "porter" is typically used instead for those who carry loads for others.

Another unconventional form of pack animal may be the dogs that are brought along on hikes carrying their own supply of drinking water and snacks on their backs, whether to provide them more exercise, or in pursuit of a hiker's ethic of "everyone carries his own gear".

Pack animals by region

• Andes - llama, donkey, mule
• Arctic - Sled dog, reindeer
• Central Africa and South Africa - ox, mule, donkey
• Central Asia - Bactrian camel, yak, mule, donkey.
• Eurasia - donkey, ox, horse
• North America - horse, mule, donkey
• North Africa and Arabic countries - dromedary camel
• Oceania - donkey, horse, dromedary camel, mule, ox
• South Asia and South East Asia - Indian elephant, water buffalo, yak

See also

• Backpacking with animals
• Packhorse
• Pack saddle
• Pack goat
• Pack station
• Outfitter
• Working animal

External links

• Llama Backpacking Documentary produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting