The Camel is among nature's creations that is certainly quite ugly with a lump on its back which can be just an ugly, meaningless lump for most people. However, what percentage of us realize that the camel was considered to be the ship of the desert which is still the preferred mode of transport? Let's make an effort to know something more about this rather clumsy four legged freak.
A camel is an even-toed ungulate, which means that the weight is borne by the third and fourth toes, unlike a horse which is odd-toed. One distinctive feature of an camel is the huge lump on its back which is called a hump. The hump contains only fatty deposits that behave as reserves to attract upon in times of need. There are 2 varieties of camels, the dromedary or Arabian camel carries a single lump whereas the Bactrian has two of them. The Dromedaries are native to the dry desert parts of West Asia along with the Bactrian camels are simply in Central and East Asian deserts. Both the species have been domesticated and used extensively for travelling and transporting goods throughout the desert. Their meat is regarded as a delicacy as well as the milk is an excellent supply of protein and good to generate cheese.
The life span of your camel is 40 to half a century. Next Season 1 subthai grown adult male can become adults with a height of just one.85 m in the shoulder and 2.15 m on the hump that's the highest point and will raise greater than a couple of feet from your body. A fully grown camel can weigh up to 700 kg and it is able to running at about 65 km/h simply speaking bursts possibly at a steady 40 km/h longer distances. It is believed that these animals were domesticated over 4000 in the past with the people of ancient Somalia. The estimates are that the dromedaries could number around 14 million them all domesticated, whereas the numbers in the Bactrian camels have reduced to about one and a half million which has a few thousands wild within the Gobi desert. The nomadic people of Somalia and Ethiopia depend heavily for the camel for their transportation needs but for the milk and meat that can help in sustaining their lives. The camel plays an essential part within the lives of these desert dwellers.
A popular misconception is that this camel stores water in the hump. The humps actually contain fat which will help in surviving inside the harsh desert climate. When this fat is metabolized, it provides a source of energy and may yield 1 gm of water for each gram of fat, which is most likely the basis for the misconception. Having adapted themselves on the hot desert climate, the camels may go without water for long periods. The only reason they just don't suffer dehydration is the oval model of their red blood cells ensures smooth flow even though dehydration sets in as a result of not enough water. The cells are conditioned to remain stable even there is certainly enough water. A camel can drink up to 100 to 150 litres of water at one go.
These type of oval RBC's aren't present in every other mammals. The camels use a tough outer hide that is protected by coarse hair. This enables the camel to face up to extreme desert temperatures that could drop only 34 degrees C and better than 45 degrees. The camel starts sweating only once the temperature goes above 40 degrees C. There could be days every time a camel never perspires. The nostrils of an camel are adapted in this particular manner that water vapor present in exhaled air is just not lost but trapped and recycled back into the body and lack of moisture by respiration is reduced. The camel's heart remains unaffected even when 25% with the weight is lost because of dehydration. When a camel eats green foliage, the moisture contained therein is sufficient and yes it doesn't have to wash along the fodder having a drink of water.
Camels have been used extensively in wars in Africa as well as the Middle East. However, by nature the camel is pretty docile and faithful to its master. More such interesting programs are aired by popular companies like Verizon FiOS TV