MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–It is a problematic relationship between camels and me. My first experience with a camel out here was watching one eat my lunch, bag and all, when I foolishly left it in the shade of the vehicle while I measured a section. My students and I have been dissuaded more than once from visiting a particular outcrop by aggressive, bellowing camels standing their ground and looked very, very big and toothy. I was thus a bit hesitant when Yoav just walked up to this beauty on our way to the center of Makhtesh Gadol. I followed and did just fine within touching distance. This is a female (hence the lack of attitude) and a pregnant one at that. She is part of a small herd owned by a Bedouin family that may or may not have an arrangement to graze animals in this nature reserve. She eased my camel anxieties.
After our encounter I realized that camels actually play a role in our work. This is one of our most productive fossils sites (“GPS 055”). It is an exposure of a marl in subunit 51 in the Matmor Formation. This is also a camel resting spot. They love the soft sediment, probably as a break from the rocky soil elsewhere. We thus find such dry camel wallows often in our explorations of the Matmor. By stirring up the marl, the camels unearth fossils that would otherwise lay hidden.
Here is a random assortment of crinoid and echinoid bits found in this camel haven. If we ignore the poop and flies, and avoid the angry males, these camels have done us a scientific favor!
