Livestock rearing is a prime activity in Somalia's rural areas and adjacent regions of Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti. The pastoral nomads of these regions comprise 60-70 per cent of the entire population. Despite of the importance of the camel in the region, it remains a gloomy fact that this valuable animal has been and is still neglected by planners and scholars, and the camel herder marginalised in his own society. This paper is a pilot study. It is concerned with the husbandry and management of camels in the region, and contains some emic notes on the existing breeds or types of camels as perceived by the pastoralists.