Pack Animals for Transport

The Pack Animals for Transport calculator computes the number of pack animals needed to transport an amount (weight) of materials.

INSTRUCTIONS: Choose units and enter the following:

• (WD) Weight of Dunnage (material being hauled) 
• (LC) Load Capacity per Animal

Number of Pack Animals (n): The calculator returns the number of pack animals needed to transport the material.

The Math / Science

Pack animals range in size, variety and hardiness.  Traditional pack animals include horses, donkeys, mules, camels, goats, yaks, reindeer, water buffaloes, llamas and even dogs.   Different animals are better in different terrains and weather conditions (e.g. camels in the dessert and sled dogs in the arctic).  A major factor is load carrying capacity.  Load Capacity of Pack Animals varies due to several factors.  Certainly the health, size and age of any animal should be taken under consideration.  However, the following Pack Animal Load Capacities can be useful as a place to start. 

• 300 kg - Camel
• 75 kg to 390 kg - Yaks
• 50kg to 200 kg - Llamas  (roughly a quarter of their body weight)
• 200 lbs to  800lb - Horses
• 150 lbs - Ponies
• 40 kg - Reindeer

See Also

• The Weight a Horse can Carry