Energy expenditure during level locomotion in large desert ungulates: the one‐humped camel and the domestic donkey

Abstract

Abstract This study sought to quantify the rate of energy expenditure ( ), the total cost of transport (COT tot ) and the net cost of transport (COT net ) in camels Camelus dromedaries and donkeys Equus asinus during level locomotion. of camels and domestic donkeys were measured at exercise speeds between 0 and 4.17 m s −1 . Resting for camels was significantly ( P <0.05) lower than predicted, while donkeys exhibited resting values similar to mammals of the same body mass. In both camels and donkeys increased in a nearly linear fashion over the range of exercise speeds. The minimum COT tot of camels in the walking and pacing gaits were not significantly different ( P =0.27). Similarly, donkeys exhibited no significant difference ( P =0.09) in the minimum COT tot while walking and trotting. In both camels and donkeys, the minimum COT tot was significantly ( P <0.05) lower than the predicted COT tot for mammals of the same body mass. The COT net in both camels and donkeys was determined to be gait dependent and significantly ( P <0.05) lower than the predicted minimum COT net values for walking and running. The low COT seen in camels and donkeys results in energy and water savings.