

Intact Ottoman 'war camel' skeleton found in Austrian cellar - benbreen
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-32145248

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sandworm
For those interested in what this animal looked like while alive (ie how many
humps do you get when you hybrid one+two?):

[http://www.camelphotos.com/camel_breeds.html](http://www.camelphotos.com/camel_breeds.html)

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Sniffnoy
I can't help but notice that the skeleton's head is thrown back as in the
somewhat-mysterious "death pose"[0] that dinosaur fossils are typically found
in. It's mouth isn't open and I don't know about the tail, but the head
position...

Basically, I'm wondering if this indeed the same phenomenon, and what that
indicates about why this occurs.

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_pose](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_pose)

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moriara
This is surprising to me, since I have read many primary source documents and
have not seen mention of camels in Ottoman cavalry, besides some of the Yemen
and Hejaz campaigns. It certainly does not make sense to bring "war camels" to
Austria when Ottomans had horse cavalry which are much more suitable to the
geography, I think at most it could be a pack animal.

~~~
defen
Letter from King Jan III Sobieski to his wife describing the battle:
[http://literat.ug.edu.pl/listys/095.htm](http://literat.ug.edu.pl/listys/095.htm)

Describing the captured booty, the first thing he mentions is camels :)

It is surprising that they brought them, considering that they had besieged
Vienna 150 years prior and found that camels were ill-suited to the terrain.

~~~
moron4hire
All armies have the disease of CRS: Can't Remember Shit.

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habosa
I've seen one of these before:
[https://www.google.com/search?q=metal+slug+camel&tbm=isch&tb...](https://www.google.com/search?q=metal+slug+camel&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=5q4dVY6wMtjgoATc8YC4Ag&ved=0CB4QsAQ&biw=1845&bih=1070)

