Transportation of a former
limestone quarry (France) Some animals are used due to sheer physical strength in tasks such as ploughing or logging. Such animals are grouped as a
draught or
draft animals. Others may be used as
pack animals, for
animal-powered transport, the movement of people and goods. Together, these are sometimes called
beasts of burden. Some animals are ridden by people on their backs and are known as
mounts. Alternatively, one or more animals in
harness may be used to pull vehicles.
Riding animals or mounts Riding animals are animals that people use as mounts in order to perform tasks such as traversing across long distances or over rugged terrain,
hunting on horseback or with some other riding animal,
patrolling around
rural and/or
wilderness areas,
rounding up and/or
herding livestock or even for recreational enjoyment. They mainly include
equines such as
horses,
donkeys, and
mules;
bovines such as
cattle,
water buffalo, and
yak. In some places,
elephants,
llamas and
camels are also used.
Dromedary camels are in arid areas of Australia, North Africa and the Middle East; the less common
Bactrian camel inhabits
central and East Asia; both are used as working animals. On occasion,
reindeer, though usually driven, may be ridden. Certain wild animals have been tamed and used for riding, usually for novelty purposes, including the
zebra and the
ostrich. Some
mythical creatures are believed to act as divine mounts, such as
garuda in
Hinduism (See
vahana for divine mounts in Hinduism) and the winged horse
Pegasus in
Greek mythology.
Pack animals Pack animals may be of the same species as mounts or harness animals, though animals such as
horses (especially
packhorses),
mules,
donkeys,
reindeer and both types of camel may have individual bloodlines or
breeds that have been
selectively bred for packing. Additional species are only used to carry loads, including
llamas in the
Andes. Domesticated
cattle and
yaks are also used as pack animals. Other species used to carry cargo include
dogs and
pack goats.
Draft animals An intermediate use is as draft animals,
harnessed singly or in
teams, to pull
sleds, wheeled vehicles or
ploughs. •
Oxen are slow but strong, and have been used in a yoke since ancient times: the earliest surviving vehicle, Puabi's Sumerian sledge, was ox-drawn; an acre was originally defined as the area a span of oxen could plow in a day. The
domestic water buffalo and
carabao, pull wagons and ploughs in Southeast Asia and the
Philippines. •
Draught or draft horses are commonly used in harness for heavy work. Several breeds of medium-weight horses are used to pull lighter wheeled carts, carriages and buggies when a certain amount of speed or style is desirable. •
Mules are considered tough and strong, with harness capacity dependent on the type of horse
mare used to produce the mule
foal. Because they are a
hybrid animal and usually are infertile, separate breeding programs must also be maintained. •
Ponies and
donkeys are often used to pull carts and small wagons. Historically, ponies were commonly used in mining to pull ore carts. •
Dogs are used for pulling
light carts or, particularly, sleds (e.g.
sled dogs such as huskies) for both recreation and working purposes. •
Goats also can perform light harness work in front of carts. •
Reindeer are used in the
Arctic and sub-Arctic Nordic countries and Siberia. During
World War II, the
Red Army deployed
deer transportation battalions on the
Eastern Front. In the twenty-first century, Russian soldiers continue to train with reindeer sleds in winter. In traditional festive legend,
Santa Claus's reindeer pull a sleigh through the night sky to help
Santa Claus deliver gifts to children on
Christmas Eve. •
Elephants are used for
logging in
Southeast Asia. • Less often,
camels and
llamas have been trained to harness. According to
Juan Ignacio Molina the Dutch captain
Joris van Spilbergen observed the use of
chiliquenes (a llama type) by native
Mapuches of
Mocha Island as
plough animals in 1614. Assorted wild animals have, on occasion, been tamed and trained to harness, including
zebras and even
moose.
Guard animals As some domesticated animals display extremely protective or territorial behavior, certain breeds and species have been utilized to guard people and/or property such as
homes,
public buildings,
businesses,
crops,
livestock and even
venues of criminal activity. Guard animals can either act as alarms to alert their owners of danger or they can be used to actively scare off and/or even attack encroaching
intruders or dangerous animals. Well known examples of guard animals include
dogs,
geese and
llamas.
Powering fixed machinery -powered
Copra press Working draught animals may power fixed machinery using a
treadmill and have been used throughout history to power a winch to raise water from a well.
Turnspit dogs were formerly used to power
roasting jacks for roasting meat.
Treatment animals Working as a form of biological treatment for the environment. Animals such as
Asian carps were imported to the U.S. in 1970s to control algae, weed, and parasite growth in aquatic farms, weeds in canal systems, and as one form of
sewage treatment.
Pathogens and diseases Animals can be used to detect the presence of pathogens and patients carrying infectious diseases. • Dogs (including
scent hounds) and bees have been trained to
detect COVID-19 infections. •
Dogs have been trained to detect cancer. One study reported ants could be used to detect cancer via urine. • Detection rats such as those trained by
APOPO can also be taught to identify diseases, especially pulmonary tuberculosis.
Searching and retrieving Dogs and pigs, with a better sense of smell than humans, can assist with gathering by finding valuable products, such as
truffles (a very expensive subterranean fungus). The French typically use
truffle hogs, while Italians mainly use dogs. Monkeys are trained to pick coconuts from palm trees, a job many human workers consider as too dangerous.
Detecting contraband Detection dogs, commonly employed by law enforcement authorities, are trained to use their
senses to detect
illegal drugs,
explosives, currency, and
contraband electronics such as illicit mobile phones, among other things. The sense most used by detection dogs is
smell, hence such dogs are also commonly known as 'sniffer dogs'. For this task, dogs may sometimes be used remotely from the suspect item, for example via the
Remote Air Sampling for Canine Olfaction (RASCO) system.
Interfacing and organization Assistance animals • The best-known example is the
guide dog or seeing eye dog for blind people. See also
service dog.
Miniature horses are also occasionally used for this purpose as well. • Trained dogs and African, Asian, and American
monkeys, such as
capuchin monkeys have been taught to provide other functions for impaired people, such as opening mail and minor household tasks of the same like.
Herding dog working with
sheep • A very close working relationship exists between a
stockman or
shepherd, a
herding dog, and the herd (or mob) of sheep or cattle. Cattle and sheep herders in other parts of the world also use various dog breeds. • Certain breeds of horses also have an innate "cow sense" that allows them to effectively carry a rider to the right place at the right time to
muster (gather or round up) livestock. See
stock horse;
cutting horse Police and military The defensive and offensive capabilities of animals (such as fangs and claws) can be used to protect or to attack humans. • The
guard dog barks or attacks, to warn of an intruder,
sniffer dogs are used to detect explosives
contraband and
attack dogs are trained to attack on command. •
War elephants were trained for battle in ancient times and are still used for military transport today. •
Military uses of horses have changed over the millennia but still continue, including for
police work. •
Camel cavalry was used in deserts since they had better performance and survivability in the harsh desert environment than horses. India's
Border Security Force and some other countries still used camel cavalry for patrolling in the
Thar desert. • Dolphins and sea lions carry markers to attach to
naval mines as well as patrolling harbors. • Dogs can be trained to find
landmines. •
Rats, which are lighter and less of a risk to set the mines off, have recently been used more frequently. •
Homing pigeons transport material, usually messages on small pieces of paper, by air. ==Legal status==