A pack animal, also known as a sumpter animal or beast of burden, is an individual or type of working animal used by humans as means of transporting materials by attaching them so their weight bears on the animal's back, in contrast to draft animals which pull loads but do not carry them.
Traditional pack animals are diverse including camels, goats, yaks, reindeer, water buffaloes, and llamas as well as the more familiar pack animals like dogs, horses, donkeys, and mules.
The term pack animal is traditionally used in contrast to draft animal, which is a working animal that typically pulls a load behind itself (such as a plow, a cart, a sled or a heavy log) rather than carrying cargo directly on its back.[1] For instance, sled dogs pull loads but do not normally carry them, while working elephants have been used for centuries to haul logs out of forests.[2]
The term pack animal can also refer to animals which naturally live and hunt in packs in the wild, such as wolves, hyenas, dogs etc., i.e. pack hunters.
Traditional pack animals include ungulates such as camels,[3] the domestic yak, reindeer, goats,[4] water buffaloes, and llama,[5] and domesticated members of the horse family including horses, donkeys, and mules.[6] Occasionally, dogs can be used to carry small loads.[7] [8]
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.[9]
Pack animals may be fitted with pack saddles and may also carry saddlebags.[10] 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.[6] The use of pack animals "is considered a valid means of viewing and experiencing" some National Parks in America, subject to guidelines and closed areas.[11]
In the 21st century, special forces have received guidance on the use of horses, mules, llamas, camels, dogs, and elephants as pack animals.[12]
The maximum load for a camel is roughly 300kg (700lb).[13]
Yaks are loaded differently according to region. In Sichuan, 165lb is carried for 30km (20miles) in 6 hours. In Qinghai, at 4100m (13,500feet) altitude, packs of up to 660lb are routinely carried, while up to 860lb is carried by the heaviest steers for short periods.[14]
Llamas can carry roughly a quarter of their body weight, so an adult male of can carry some .[15]
Loads for equids are disputed. The US Army specifies a maximum of 20 percent of body weight for mules walking up to 20miles a day in mountains, giving a load of up to about 200lb. However an 1867 text mentioned a load of up to 800lb. In India, the prevention of cruelty rules (1965) limit mules to and ponies to .[16]
Reindeer can carry up to 40kg (90lb) for a prolonged period in mountains.[17]