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A pack animal is a beast of burden
Beast of burden

Beast of burden may refer to:* A pack animal* A working animal*Beast of Burden , originally written and performed by The Rolling Stones*Beast of Burden , a television episode...
 used by human
Human

A human being, also human or man, is a member of a species of bipedalism primates in the family Hominidae . Mitochondrial DNA evidence indicates that modern humans originated in east Africa about 200,000 years ago....
s as means of transport
Transport

Transport or transportation is the movement of passenger and cargo from one location to another. Transport is performed by various modes of transport, such as aviation, rail transport, road transport, ship transport, cable transport, pipeline transport and space transport....
ing materials by attaching them so their weight bears on the animal
Animal

Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the Kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life....
's back; the term may be applied to either an individual animal or a species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 so employed.

Many ungulate
Ungulate

Ungulates are several groups of mammals, most of which use the tips of their toes, usually hoofed, to sustain their whole body weight while moving....
 species are traditional pack animals, including elephant
Elephant

Elephants are large land mammals of the order Proboscidea and the family Elephantidae. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant and the Asian Elephant ....
s, camel
Camel

Camels are even-toed ungulates within the genus Camelus. The dromedary, one-humped or Arabian camel has a single hump and is well known for its healthy low fat milk, and the Bactrian camel has two humps....
s, the yak
Yak

The yak is a long-haired bovine found throughout the Himalayan region of south Central Asia, the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia....
, reindeer
Reindeer

The reindeer , also known as the caribou when wild in North America, is an Arctic and Subarctic-dwelling deer, widespread and numerous across the northern Holarctic....
, goats, water buffalo and llama
Llama

The llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a pack animal by the Incas and other natives of the Andes mountains. In South America llamas are still used as beasts of burden, as well as for the production of fiber and meat....
, and many of the domesticated Equidae
Equidae

Equidae is the Taxonomy Family of horses and related animals, including the extant horses, donkeys, and zebras, and many other species known only from fossils....
 (horse
Horse

The horse is a hoofed mammal, a subspecies of one of seven extant species of the family Equidae. The horse has evolution of the horse over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, odd-toed ungulate animal of today....
 family).

The term is not routinely applied to humans carrying loads on their backs except to make a pejorative point about the injustice of so employing them, or about the privation that usually occasions accepting such work without explicit coercion.






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A pack animal is a beast of burden
Beast of burden

Beast of burden may refer to:* A pack animal* A working animal*Beast of Burden , originally written and performed by The Rolling Stones*Beast of Burden , a television episode...
 used by human
Human

A human being, also human or man, is a member of a species of bipedalism primates in the family Hominidae . Mitochondrial DNA evidence indicates that modern humans originated in east Africa about 200,000 years ago....
s as means of transport
Transport

Transport or transportation is the movement of passenger and cargo from one location to another. Transport is performed by various modes of transport, such as aviation, rail transport, road transport, ship transport, cable transport, pipeline transport and space transport....
ing materials by attaching them so their weight bears on the animal
Animal

Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the Kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life....
's back; the term may be applied to either an individual animal or a species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 so employed.

Many ungulate
Ungulate

Ungulates are several groups of mammals, most of which use the tips of their toes, usually hoofed, to sustain their whole body weight while moving....
 species are traditional pack animals, including elephant
Elephant

Elephants are large land mammals of the order Proboscidea and the family Elephantidae. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant and the Asian Elephant ....
s, camel
Camel

Camels are even-toed ungulates within the genus Camelus. The dromedary, one-humped or Arabian camel has a single hump and is well known for its healthy low fat milk, and the Bactrian camel has two humps....
s, the yak
Yak

The yak is a long-haired bovine found throughout the Himalayan region of south Central Asia, the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia....
, reindeer
Reindeer

The reindeer , also known as the caribou when wild in North America, is an Arctic and Subarctic-dwelling deer, widespread and numerous across the northern Holarctic....
, goats, water buffalo and llama
Llama

The llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a pack animal by the Incas and other natives of the Andes mountains. In South America llamas are still used as beasts of burden, as well as for the production of fiber and meat....
, and many of the domesticated Equidae
Equidae

Equidae is the Taxonomy Family of horses and related animals, including the extant horses, donkeys, and zebras, and many other species known only from fossils....
 (horse
Horse

The horse is a hoofed mammal, a subspecies of one of seven extant species of the family Equidae. The horse has evolution of the horse over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, odd-toed ungulate animal of today....
 family).

The term is not routinely applied to humans carrying loads on their backs except to make a pejorative point about the injustice of so employing them, or about the privation that usually occasions accepting such work without explicit coercion. (The 1978 Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones are an English rock music band formed in 1962 in London when multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones and pianist Ian Stewart were joined by vocalist Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards....
 song Beast of Burden
Some Girls

Some Girls is an album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1978. Considered a highlight of their output and the best of their post-Exile on Main St. records, the album revitalized the band's career upon its release and re-established The Rolling Stones as a vital rock and roll band in an era infused with punk rock and disco....
 refers to a sense of abuse, accepted within a romantic relationship.) Nevertheless, from a physical point of view, certainly many considerations apply equally to human and other pack animals, without considering the range of social conditions ranging through slave
Slavery

Slavery is a form of forced labor where a person is compelled to Labor for another . Slaves are held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase, or birth, and are deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to receive Remuneration in return for their labor....
s, abused women and children, Himalayan and Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
n natives employed as expedition porter
Porter (carrier)

A porter, also called a bearer, is a person who carries objects for others....
s, vacationing students whose duties as staff of mountaineering
Mountaineering

Mountaineering is the sport, hobby or profession of walking, hiking, trekking and climbing up mountains. It is also sometimes known as alpinism, particularly in Europe....
 hut
Hut

Hut may refer to:*Hut *Hans Hut , an Anabaptist leader*Hut Records, a British audio records company*Sunglass Hut International, largest American retailer of sunglasses...
s include packing heavy loads of supplies up steep slopes, and purely recreational hikers and backpackers
Backpacking (wilderness)

Backpacking combines hiking and Camping in a single trip. A backpacker hikes into the backcountry to spend one or more nights there, and carries supplies and equipment to satisfy sleeping and eating needs....
 including both short-trip ones, and long-trip backpackers who court injury and emaciation in carrying their heavy loads.

Another unconventional form of draft animal may be the dog
Dog

The dog is a domesticated subspecies of the Gray Wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties....
s that are brought along on hikes
Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often on trail. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous :Category:Hiking organizations worldwide....
 carrying their own supply of drinking water and snacks on their backs, whether to provide them more exercise, or in pursuit of a hiker's ethic of "everyone carries his own gear".

In addition to referring to a backpack ("burden"), a pack
Pack (canine)

A pack of canines is a group of canines of the same kind. Not all Canidae form packs and social behaviour within packs varies with the species....
 also means a large number of wild animals of the same kind. Thus "pack animal" is occasionally used to mean animals who live in packs (i.e., social animal
Social animal

A social animal is a loosely defined term for an organism that is highly Interaction with other members of its species to the point of having a recognizable and distinct society....
s). In this sense, dogs are also classified as pack animals because they live, feed, and travel as a group.

Traditional pack animals by region

  • Andes
    Andes

    The Andes form the world's longest exposed mountain range. They lie as a continuous chain of highland along the western coast of South America. The range is over 7,000 km long, 200-700 km wide , and of an average height of about 4,000 m ....
     - llama
    Llama

    The llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a pack animal by the Incas and other natives of the Andes mountains. In South America llamas are still used as beasts of burden, as well as for the production of fiber and meat....
  • Central Asia
    Central Asia

    Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east, and from southern Russia in the north to northern India in the south....
     - Bactrian Camel
    Bactrian camel

    The Bactrian Camel is a large even-toed ungulate native to the steppes of north eastern Asia. It is one of the two surviving species of camel....
    , Yak
    Yak

    The yak is a long-haired bovine found throughout the Himalayan region of south Central Asia, the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia....
  • North Africa
    North Africa

    North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa.Geopolitically, the United Nations subregion of Northern Africa includes the following seven countries or territories:...
     & Arabic countries - Dromedary camel
  • Central Africa
    Central Africa

    Central Africa is a core region of the African continent often considered to include Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda....
     & South Africa
    South Africa

    The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
     - ox
    Ox

    Oxen are bovinae trained as draught animals. Often they are adult, castration males. Oxen are used for ploughing, transport, hauling cargo, threshing grain by trampling, powering machines for grinding grain, irrigation or other purposes, and drawing carts and wagons....
  • Eurasia
    Eurasia

    Eurasia is a large landmass covering about 53,990,000 km? or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface . Often considered a single continent, Eurasia comprises the traditional continents of Europe and Asia, concepts which date back to classical antiquity and the borders for which are somewhat arbitrary....
    - the ox
    Ox

    Oxen are bovinae trained as draught animals. Often they are adult, castration males. Oxen are used for ploughing, transport, hauling cargo, threshing grain by trampling, powering machines for grinding grain, irrigation or other purposes, and drawing carts and wagons....
    , horse
    Horse

    The horse is a hoofed mammal, a subspecies of one of seven extant species of the family Equidae. The horse has evolution of the horse over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, odd-toed ungulate animal of today....
  • South Asia
    South Asia

    South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries on the west and the east....
     and South East Asia - Indian elephant
    Indian Elephant

    The Indian Elephant, Elephas maximus indicus, is one of four subspecies of the Asian Elephant, the largest population of which is found in India....
    , Water buffalo, Yak
    Yak

    The yak is a long-haired bovine found throughout the Himalayan region of south Central Asia, the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia....
  • Arctic
    Arctic

    The Arctic is the region around the Earth's North Pole, opposite the Antarctica region around the South Pole. The Arctic includes the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Greenland , Russia, the United States , Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland....
     - dog
    Dog

    The dog is a domesticated subspecies of the Gray Wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties....
    , reindeer
    Reindeer

    The reindeer , also known as the caribou when wild in North America, is an Arctic and Subarctic-dwelling deer, widespread and numerous across the northern Holarctic....
  • Oceania
    Oceania

    Oceania is a geography, often geopolitics, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term "Oceania" was coined in 1831 by French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville....
     - horse
    Horse

    The horse is a hoofed mammal, a subspecies of one of seven extant species of the family Equidae. The horse has evolution of the horse over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, odd-toed ungulate animal of today....
    , Dromedary
    Dromedary

    The Dromedary camel is a large even-toed ungulate. It is often referred to as the one-humped camel, Arabian camel, or simply as the "dromedary"....
    , ox
    Ox

    Oxen are bovinae trained as draught animals. Often they are adult, castration males. Oxen are used for ploughing, transport, hauling cargo, threshing grain by trampling, powering machines for grinding grain, irrigation or other purposes, and drawing carts and wagons....


See also

  • Packhorse
    Packhorse

    A packhorse or pack horse refers generally to an Equus such as a horse, mule, donkey or pony used for carrying goods on their backs, usually carried in sidebags or panniers....
  • Pack saddle
    Pack saddle

    File:PackSaddleUSA.jpgA pack saddle is any device designed to be secured on the back of a horse, mule, or other draft animal so it can carry heavy loads such as luggage, firewood, small cannons or other weapons too heavy to be carried by humans, etc....
  • Pack goat
    Pack goat

    A pack goat is a goat used for packing as a beast of burden, usually a castrated male or wether.In the U.S., goats bred for packing are usually tall and lean and from one of the larger dairy goat breeds such as Alpine, Toggenburg, Saanen, La Mancha, Oberhasli or a mix thereof....
  • Pack station
    Pack station

    A pack station is the base of operations for one who transports freight via pack animals . Outfitters are located in wilderness areas or at urban interfaces where there are no roads available for motor vehicles....
  • Outfitter
    Outfitter

    An outfitter is a shop or person that sells men's clothes . More specifically, it is a company or individual who provides or deals in equipment and supplies for the pursuit of certain activities....
  • Working animal
    Working animal

    A working animal is an animal that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks. They may be close members of the family, such as guide dogs, or domestications such as logging elephants....