Interesting Facts About Camels

Interesting Facts About Camels

Camel with one hump

1. An adult camel measures just over six feet tall at its shoulder and over seven feet tall at its hump or humps. There are two kinds of camels, those with one hump and those with two humps. Camels with one hump are called Dromedary or Arabian camels or Ship of the Desert. They live in the dry deserts in West Asia.Camels with two humps are called Bactrian camels. They live in Central and East Asia.

2. So whether a camel has one hump or two, it is one amazing creature that is very well adapted to its environment.

Camel with two humps

3. The Dromedary Camel has flat, broad feet that help when traveling on sand, a short coat (brown to dusty white), a strong, tough mouth for eating desert plants, double rows of eyelashes,closeable nostrils, bushy eyebrows, and fur lined ears to keep out sand, the ability to carry up to 990 lbs, and the height of 6-7 feet.

4. The Dromedary Camel can drink more than 20 gallons of water in 10 minutes (which would kill most other animals), and then store the water in its blood stream for up to 2 weeks, go 5-7 days with little or no food and water,and store large amounts of water in its blood stream thanks to a unique metabolism.

5. The Dromedary Camel helped the nomads by providing meat, wool, and transportation,being used as war horses, a unit of trade, and the dowry of a bride.

6. The Dromedary Camel contributed to culture by being used in the popular Arabian sport, camel racing,being used as transportation during Mecca pilgrimages, and being included in the desert codes of the Bedouin (ancient Arab nomads).

7. Camels have a 3 chambered stomach.

8. The only mammal with oval blood cells. (This may have something to do with the fluid intake).

9. Camels can stand much greater dehydration than man (25% vs. 10% water loss).

10. Can drink 30 gallons in about 10 minutes.

11. Have huge feet with soft pads act as “snow shoes” for walking on sand. 

12. Have thick knee pads and a chest pad.

13. The camel does not store water in the hump, but can do so in the stomach lining.

14. During long treks the hump is used for food and when broken down, water is a byproduct.

15. Hump actually sags after long trips.

16. Can carry up to 600 lbs. And cover 30 miles in a day.

17. Closable nostrils, extra eyelashes, and hair in ears are adaptations for sand storms.

18. Camels have amazing survival skills built into their bodies. Their humps contribute to the camel staying cooler because all the body fat is concentrated to one area instead of being spread throughout the body. 

19. Also camels are great at handling changes in body temperature. They need to reach temperatures over 106 degrees Fahrenheit before they begin to sweat. And when they do sweat, it evaporates while on the camel’s skin, instead of on its coat. This cools the camel much faster. Their coats also help them adapt to the heat. While the coat is thick, it reflects the sunlight and protects the camel from the heat that rises off the desert sand.

20. The desert sand can be a problem for many animals, but not for camels.  They have flat, wide feet to keep them from sinking into the sand.  They have long eyelashes to keep sand out of their eyes.  They can even close their nostrils to keep the sand out of their noses.

21. Camels can be grumpy animals. Sometimes they even spit when they get mad!

22. Every year in Saudi Arabia there is a beauty contest to select the Prettiest Arabian Camel. Judges look at the following qualities: health, the beauty of head, eyes, cheek-bones, legs, humps, and affection to the owner. A winning camel could be worth 500,000 United States Dollars.

23. Scientists believe that ancestors of the modern camel lived in North America at least 40 million years ago.  Although the ancestors of the lamas and camels appear to have diverged sometime in the Eocene epoch, they weren't completely separated from each other until the Pleistocene, when the ancestors of the camels migrated across the Bering Strait (temporary) land bridge to Asia.  Lamas migrated to South American, and all camel died out in North America.  Once in Asia, camels migrated through eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa 

24. Big, flat feet enable camels to walk on the sand without sinking into it.

25. Long Legs help to move across the dessert quicker and keeps the sand off the camels stomach.

26. A camel's head has built-in sun-visors to help keep the bright sunlight out of its eyes. There are broad ridges of bone above each eye. These stick out far enough to shield the eyes when the sun is overhead. 

27. The ears of camel are small to make it harder for sand to get in them.

28. The camel has three eyelids and two layers of eyelashes to protect itself from dust and sun. To protect their eyes, camels have long eyelashes that catch most of the sand when desert winds blow sand on to their eyes. If sand gets into an eye a camel has a third eyelid to get it out. The extra eyelid moves from side to side and wipes the sand away.