Transport (and cannibalism)

From: Andrew Barton <AndrewBarton_at_...>
Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2001 12:11:20 -0400


> Humans however end up being the best possible pack animals for one
reason:
> we have predator physiques while all others have prey biology. Any pack
> critter can be pushed over the edge of normal endurance, but when a horse
> or ox gets a sprain you might as well eat it. When people get a sprain
they
> can rest for a while and recover.

When the British army was working with Arab fighters during world war one, the Arabs loaded far more supplies onto a camel than the British did. The difference was, the British were loading them at a rate (set down in their Staff manuals) that the camels could sustain indefinitely. The Arabs were intentionally overloading them so that they would last as long as the supplies they were carrying, then they'd eat the camels.

Not a strategy most people would use with human pack animals.

Andrew

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