Camel Wrestling a Saliva-Soaked Tradition

(April 7) -- Tiger Woods may be the big thing at the Masters Tournament this week, but in rural parts of Turkey and Afghanistan, many of the locals are still more interested in camels.

That's because folks from Kabul to Istanbul are big followers of the ancient sport of camel wrestling, which is as popular as the Masters or the NCAA Final Four are in America. Of course, animal rights supporters find the ancient sport deplorable.

Mustafa Najafizada, AP

Camels go hump-to-hump in this March 22 event in Mazar-i-Sharif, Balkh province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan.

Mostly a winter sport, camel wrestling is a sport so simple that the average camel can master it in just minutes. Basically, the event starts by having each camel owner parade his elaborately saddled camels through the village while he extols how his camel is the best and can handle any comer with ease.

All the camels are fully grown males -- or "bulls" -- that have been specially fed to increase their bulk further. Don't worry: Not one wrestling camel has been accused of using steroids.

The match begins when two bulls are brought into the arena, and then a comely young cow is paraded around to stir up their juices.

That is not a metaphor. When male camels get aroused, streams of viscous milky saliva start frothing from their mouths and nostrils. Oh, and camel liquid doesn't stop there. Eyewitnesses say the camels also urinate profusely, and since they aim backward, spectators have to guard against getting sprayed during a battle.

According to Turkish camel wrestling expert Burak Sansal, there is a direct correlation between the amount of saliva the bull emits and his readiness for battle.

"With their saliva and roaring, [the bulls] try to scare the opposition off before the fight starts," Sansal said.

Generally, the fighting camels have to be fully grown young and adult (but not old) bull camels.

"The best is between 5 to 8 years old, but there are camels that still fight at the age of 10 to 12," Sansal told AOL News, adding that a normal camel can live up to 40 years.

A camel can win a wrestling match by making his worthy opponent retreat, scream, or fall. In addition, the camel owner can forfeit the contest by throwing a rope into the field.

Camels wrestle with others in their same weight class, and each one has his own technique for getting over the hump and winning the battle. Some might wrestle from the right, while others wrestle from the left. Still others trip their opponents or trap their opponent's head under their chest and then try to sit.

However, Sansal admits most camel wrestling matches don't have that much grappling. Mostly, the bulls halfheartedly butt each other and lean on the other until one of them gives in and runs away.

"This is the really exciting bit, as the bull will often charge off towards the crowd, with the conquering bull in pursuit, and the spectators must scramble hurriedly out of the way," he writes on AllAboutTurkey.com.

Although watching newbies scramble in fear of the oncoming camels is one of the appeals of camel wrestling, there are surprisingly few accidents, according to the Web site.

"Occasionally, two bulls will get down to it and actually try to wrestle one another, feinting in here and there, eventually locking a foreleg inside the leg of the opposition and leaning on him to topple him over in a dromedary's version of a wrestling fall and pin," Sansal writes.

It is estimated there are about 1,200 camel wrestlers in Turkey, and the championships attract thousands of spectators, mostly locals and a small percentage of tourists. But while the Turks are passionate about camel wrestling, so far the matches aren't being seen on the local equivalent of ESPN.

"Some local TV stations cover the games in their city or town, but in the past I remember that there was more coverage of the fights, but not anymore," Sansal said.

Perhaps that's because there isn't a single camel wrestling championship.

According to Sansal, every match is considered a single championship, so the winning camel of that week gets the prize and cup, but not much else.

"There is no sort of final game or Super Bowl or whatever," he admitted. "At the end of the season, if your camel won more matches than others, then you're proud of him, and that you won many cups and prizes. But it doesn't mean that you're the champion of the champions."

As you might expect, this ancient sport has aroused more than just the male bulls. It has aroused controversy as well.

Animal rights activists like Kim Sturla of Animal Place, an organization that provides sanctuary to farm animals, believe camel wrestling isn't as cruel as, say, cockfighting or dogfighting, but it is still abusive and exploitative.

"Although there is some positioning for dominance among herd animals, they have a chance to work it out for themselves," Sturla said. "That doesn't happen with camel wrestling. If you put five people in a closet, you'll get a different reaction from them than if they had space.

"It constantly astounds me that people find this sort of thing entertaining," she said.

Evidence suggests that participation in camel wrestling is declining, and that prospect thrills Sturla, except she points out that the decreased involvement is due to the expense required to train a camel. Still, a part of her remains optimistic.

"I hope the activity is declining because we humans are evolving as a species," she said.