New Photocamel Member Rankings

[Kevin Barrett]

After months of traversing the deserts of the earth and the occassional mountanous regions far and wide, the moderators
have once again decided to "stir" the proverbial forum pot with a new naming convention for our members. Regular content
contributors should be recognized and in our atypical camel style, they shall! Name rankings are now all camel related...

Alpaca - new member to 49 posts

Everyone starts here...

The Alpaca (Vicugna pacos) is one of two domesticated breeds of South American camel-like ungulates, derived from the
wild guanaco. It resembles a sheep in appearance, but is larger in size, and has a long erect neck with a handsome head.



Vicuna - 50 posts

You're off to a great start!

The vicuña (Vicugna vicugna) is one the original South American camelids, which lives in the high Andes, along with the
guanaco, making the two wild species. As such, is a relative of the llama and the alpaca. It produces small amounts of
extremely fine wool – about a pound per year. It is understood that the Incas raised Vicuñas for their wool, and that it
was against the law for anybody but royalty to wear vicuña garments. Both today and under the rule of the Inca, the
vicuña was protected by law.

Guanaco - 250

You're becoming a "regular" around Photocamel

The guanaco (Lama guanicoe) is an elegant, fine-boned lamoid animal that stands approximately 1.06 m (3 ft 6 in) at the shoulder and weighs
about 90 kg (200 lb). Like the llama, the guanaco is double coated with a coarse guard hair and soft undercoat, which is even finer and thus
more highly prized than that of the alpaca, although they carry far less of it.

Llama - 500 posts

A notable milestone on PhotoCamel. Fellow members will note your absence if you've not posted for awhile.

Llama, sometimes rendered lama in the 1900s, is a word used by the Peruvians to designate one of a small group of closely associated animals,
which, before the Spanish conquest of the Americas, were the only domesticated ungulates of the country. While the prounciation in Spanish
is closer to 'yama' it is pronunced in the English speaking world as 'lama'.

It is believed that Francisco Pizarro and his band of Spanish conquistadors first encountered the llama in 1528, describing them as "little camels".
The llamas were kept not only for their value as beasts of burden, but also for their flesh, hides, and wool. In fact, llamas were used in place of
the horse, the ox, the goat, and the sheep of the Old World.

Dromedary - 1000 posts

Members take note of your posts. You're well respected, but you may have suffered a few "smites" along the way. You've already begun to
carve your niche' on this forum.

The Dromedary (Camelus dromedarius) is a large even-toed ungulate native to northern Africa and western Asia, and is the best-known member
of the camel family. The dromedary has one hump on its back, in contrast to the Bactrian camel which has two. The dromedary is sometimes
called an Arabian Camel. Some maintain that the name "dromedary" should be used to refer only to racing camels.

Bactrian - 1750 posts

A lofty pedestal, but you've been here awhile. So why not? Your strengths and weaknesses are known, but you're well-loved inspite of yourself.
At this point, it takes quite a bit to unsettle you.

Bactrian camels are over 2 meters (7 feet) tall at the hump and weigh in excess of 725 kg (1,600 pounds). They are herbivores, eating grass,
leaves, and grains, capable of drinking up to 120 litres (32 US gallons) of water at a time. Their mouth is extremely tough, allowing them to eat
thorny desert plants.

They are supremely adapted to protect themselves against the desert heat and sand; with wide, padded feet and thick leathery pads on the
knees and chest, nostrils that can open and close, ears lined with protective hairs, and bushy eyebrows with two rows of long eyelashes. Thick
fur and underwool keep the animal warm during cold desert nights and also insulate against daytime heat.

F1 Hybrid - 2500 posts


You're a real 'beast-of-burden' and pull your own weight and then some on this forum. You've become more patient, tolerant and capable
at the same time. The folks around here depend upon your photographic insights to assist them in their own photographic pursuits.

The F1 Hybrid Is the result of cross breeding of Dromedary and Bactrian camel. This method of mating is prevalent in Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, and
Turkey. Crossbreeding generally produces a bigger and heavier offspring than either parent. For example; they get up to 7.6 feet shoulder height
and 2000 to 2200 lb. That is why they are often used as draft animals for carrying loads and plowing. They are easier to work, more patient and
tolerant. Furthermore, these hybrid camels mature faster than the Dromedary and Bactrian camels... In Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan and
Kazakhstan they are called; Tulu, Majen, Iver and Bertuar. In Iran the males are called Boghor and the females are called
Hachamaia.


Two designations reserved for our senior members ...


Photocamel Master - 5000 posts


Almost a permanent fixture on the forum at this point. Photocamel Master is a designation that indicates a consummate level of
skill and forum proficiency.

Camel Breath - 10,000 posts!


Congratulations! You're a permanent fixture around these parts. When you speak through the various boards on Photocamel,
your breath arrests the attention of all.


_________________________________________________
Prizes
The first five people to make "Camel Breath" status get a PhotoCamel item of their choice from:

PhotoCamel Goodies : CafePress.com

_________________________________________________


Note: Source material from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Pageand Camel Breeds

[JDArt]

Great work, Kevin. I pray that I never attain Camel Breath status.

[ohenry]

And at 10,000 posts, the fleas of 1000 camels infest your body hair with vengeance

[JDArt]

At 10,000 posts, you have to go back to dpreview.

[Mr. Pickles]

Woooo, back to DPR? Might as well quit posting here now, and avoid the anguish.

[ohenry]

Originally Posted by JDArt

At 10,000 posts, you have to go back to dpreview.

ohhhh noooooo mister bill

[mikej]

If you make 10,000 posts, you ought to take over paying for the web hosting of this site... cause you are using the site like you own it.

Mike

[scoundrel1728]

I think we can do better on the images, especially the dromedary and bactrian camels.

I also saw that we have two or three llamas that will hop across the ocean to northern Africa to become dromedaries in the not-too-distant future, including Kevin and ohenry.

[ellette]

ROTFl...I love them. It is not what I'd call complimentary at any stage, but I think I'd rather be called a llama than a savant.

Sara

[scoundrel1728]

Originally Posted by ellette

ROTFl...I love them. It is not what I'd call complimentary at any stage, but I think I'd rather be called a llama than a savant.

Except you are within ten posts of becoming a dromedary yourself. (Savant, by the way, is the French word for a scientist or other similar learned person.)

[ellette]

Originally Posted by scoundrel1728

Except you are within ten posts of becoming a dromedary yourself. (Savant, by the way, is the French word for a scientist or other similar learned person.)

Yeah, I'm getting close to an actual camel. Oh, and I know savant in itself isn't bad...but I can't read it without putting "idiot" before it.

Sara

[JDArt]

Yeah, I've never heard of an "idiot Llama"--an "idiot Bactrian," maybe.

[Shortie]

This place moves too quickly for me

At the weekend I was an adult now a Vicuna what is this place comming to : : : :

Shortie

[Kevin Barrett]

Originally Posted by scoundrel1728

I think we can do better on the images, especially the dromedary and bactrian camels.

I also saw that we have two or three llamas that will hop across the ocean to northern Africa to become dromedaries in the not-too-distant future, including Kevin and ohenry.

I think I found a good one for Camel Breath, you're more than welcome to suggest other image sources that we can freely link to.

[dc2]

[dc2]

Just wondered dose my last count as a post

[scoundrel1728]

Originally Posted by Kevin Barrett

I think I found a good one for Camel Breath, you're more than welcome to suggest other image sources that we can freely link to.

I found a number on google, though of course most of those images have copyright issues. However, this is a photography site and we should be able to come up with something on our own. A shot of a dromedary should be relatively easy. The bactrian camel would be a bit more difficult but someone should be able to find one in a nearby zoo.

[Paul Shields]

Originally Posted by scoundrel1728

I found a number on google, though of course most of those images have copyright issues. However, this is a photography site and we should be able to come up with something on our own. A shot of a dromedary should be relatively easy. The bactrian camel would be a bit more difficult but someone should be able to find one in a nearby zoo.

Sounds like a nice challenge. Maybe people can come up with their own royalty free shots of these beasts and we can set up a gallery.

[edawn]

Well done, Kevin! Very creative and unique and good for a smile!

Elaine

[Kevin Barrett]

Originally Posted by Paul

Sounds like a nice challenge. Maybe people can come up with their own royalty free shots of these beasts and we can set up a gallery.

If somebody wants to search iStockphoto, I'm sure between us all we should be able to come
up with $1 USD for the .20 cent downloads.