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Inside the world of million-dollar beauty pageants – for camels

<p>When you hear “beauty pageants” you probably think of human women (and men) competing. However, a series of pageants on the Arabian Peninsula celebrate the beauty of the dromedary, or one-humped camel.</p> <p>Interest in camel beauty competitions has grown since the boom of oil production during the 20th century, as camels became associated with status and wealth.</p> <p>These pageants have become massive. In 2017, some 30,000 camels competed in the <a href="https://www.google.com.au/search?q=King+Adul+Aziz+Camel+Festival&amp;oq=King+Adul+Aziz+Camel+Festival&amp;aqs=chrome..69i57&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8">King Abul Aziz Camel Festival</a> in Saudi Arabia, which has a <a href="https://www.forbesmiddleeast.com/en/king-abdulaziz-camel-festival-will-crown-miss-camel-this-month/">prize pool</a> of around AU$45 million. The winners in six categories each get roughly AU$7.5 million, along with the crown of “<a href="https://www.forbesmiddleeast.com/en/king-abdulaziz-camel-festival-will-crown-miss-camel-this-month/">Miss Camel</a>”.</p> <p>The lure of these glittering prizes has also led to cheating. Earlier this year 12 camels were <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/24/saudi-camel-beauty-contest-judges-get--hump-botox-cheats">disqualified</a> from a camel beauty pageant in Saudi Arabia after receiving Botox injections to improve the look of their lips and noses.</p> <p>So what constitutes a prize-winning camel?</p> <p><strong>Omani camel contests</strong></p> <p>Many breeds of camels compete in pageants across the Arabian Peninsula, so they are all assessed differently. I have worked with the Omani Camel Racing Federation to help develop a new scoring system, which aims to improve transparency and fairness.</p> <p>A requirement of Omani beauty contests is that only pure-bred camels from Oman may participate. Camel owners must testify under oath to the authenticity of their animals’ pedigree, or they are banned from taking part.</p> <p>Local committees of experts assess and rank the camels, which are categorised by age after a teeth examination. They look for:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Coat:</strong>a natural appearance with shiny hair of a clearly definable colour. The brighter the hair, the more beautiful the pageant entrant is considered to be. No hair-colouring, tattooing or other cosmetic modification is allowed.</li> <li><strong>Neck:</strong>must be long, wide, and elegant and lean, neither overly full nor skinny. The area between the neck and the hump should be long and strong.</li> <li><strong>Head:</strong>should be large and upright as well as proportioned to the rest of the body. Lips are pouty and pendulous, with the upper lip being cleft, chin is visible from the front and side, and eyes are wide with long, dark lashes. Ears are long, furrowed and pricked up, and also keep the sand out.</li> <li><strong>Hump:</strong>large and shapely, in the usual position close to the back – a good posture and a large hump may increase a camel’s chance of winning.</li> </ul> <p><strong>How competitions happen</strong></p> <p>Pageant contestants are housed away from the sun and fed milk, wheat, honey and dates before the competition. During the contest itself, a handful of judges appointed by Omani Camel Racing Federation inspect the camels, consult with each other, and rank the animals. The whole scoring process is qualitative, and at no point do the judges write a score or explain the reasoning behind their decisions.</p> <p>The increasing popularity of camel beauty contests has caused some dissatisfaction over the absence of a formal scoring system.</p> <p>While studying the genetics of a range of animals as diverse as crocodiles, platypuses, oryxes, wild pigs and peccaries, I agreed to take on a project to define criteria for competitions, based on the traditional judging system.</p> <p>We began with a simple question: “What features make a camel beautiful from an Omani perspective?” We then developed a numerical scoring card to help judges explain their decisions.</p> <p>We identified 22 body measurements across the head, upper body, front and rear, as well as general appearance and colour. Each of these is scored to give a maximum total of 100 points. The judges we have consulted are happy with the outcome and are looking forward to validating the system in upcoming major contests across Oman.</p> <p>We are also assessing overall genetic patterns of the pageant contestants and their association with beauty traits. We will be extending our genetic studies to camels used for racing, milk and meat in Oman.</p> <p>The scoring and ranking of camels during beauty contests can be a challenging business. We hope giving judges a numerical system will lend support to their decisions and help keep the owners and the general public, and consequently the pageant contestants, happy.</p> <p><em>Written by Jaime Gongora and Mahmood Alamri. Republished with permission of </em><a href="https://theconversation.com/inside-the-world-of-million-dollar-beauty-pageants-for-camels-98759"><em>The Conversation</em></a><em>. </em></p>

Beauty & Style

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Uluru Camel Cup: A true blue Aussie outback event

<p>Did you know there are more than one million wild camels running around the Australian outback? So suddenly, a whole racing festival dedicated to these ships of the desert doesn’t seem so strange…</p> <p>The Uluru Camel Cup started in 2012 and for the first year attracted mainly locals living in the town of Yulara, the closest settlement to Uluru. It’s now grown to one of the most popular events on the Northern Territory’s calendar and draws spectators from all over the world. This year, the cup will be held on May 27.</p> <p>The festivities begin on Friday night at the Outback Pioneer Hotel &amp; Bar. The evening starts with an Aussie buffet dinner, including a spit roast, followed by live music (mainly country), dancing and entertainment. The highlight of the night is the Camel Cup Calcutta, where you can bid on your favourite camel for the big race on Saturday. There’s no gambling at the track itself, so you’ll need to get your bets in the night before.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yeK8Qku_FPU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p>On race day, the camels stretch their legs with qualifying races before the three big ticket shows: the Dash for Cash, Plate Race and the Uluru Camel Cup itself. The camels aren’t trained racers. Usually, they are carrying tourists on tours of Uluru and Kata Tjuta at a slow walking pace. Their handlers will put them through a few races before the big day, but there’s really no way to know how the race will turn out.</p> <p>As with everything in the outback, the weather has a big role to play. One year, heavy rains made the track so wet that organisers decided that it wasn’t safe for jockeys to ride. No problem – the camels just ran on their own.</p> <p>Off the track, there’s plenty of action as well. Punters dress up to compete in the Fashions on the Field parade and there are stock whip demonstrations, wheelbarrow races and even a camel dung throwing competition. The weekend wraps up with the glittering Frock Up &amp; Rock Up Gala Ball, held under the stars with a red sand dance floor and music till the early hours.</p> <p>Have you ever been to the Uluru Camel Cup? Share your experience in the comments below.</p>

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