Grazing Herds (Camel, Cattle, Buffalo, Antelope, Sheep)

Across plain, steppe and dry march roam the great grazing herds: humped camels, broad-backed wild cattle, shaggy plains buffalo, fleet antelope, and woolly sheep. All are four-legged, hoofed beasts built to turn grass into meat, milk and hide, and most males carry horns they will lower in defence. Camels store fat in their humps and endure long thirsty journeys. Though gentle by nature, a startled herd becomes a hazard: a charging bull gores and tramples, while a panicked mass flattens anything caught in its path. For the settler these animals are walking larders, the foundation of pasture, plough-team and caravan, supplying nearly every staple a hard frontier life demands.