Click Here To Make a Contribution

As you know, camels are animals that are very highly specialized for living in dry conditions. Fact is, they've had that capability for millions of years. Paleontologists will tell you that camelids - the family name for camels is: camelidae - first appeared in the late Eocene period and were among the earliest of the even-toed hoofed mammals. They've also established that the camel family originated in North America with camel-like animals that took 40 to 45 million years to evolve into the species of camels that we know today: the one-humped camel (Camelus dromedarius) which is found in the Arabian deserts; the two-humped camel (Camelus bactrianus) which is an Asian camel; plus the two "lamoids" - the guanaco, and vicuña - indigenous to South America. (Llamas and alpacas that are also found in South America today, are bred from guanacos.)

How do dry areas come about?

Well, too many animals grazing over too little land can do it. And when man starts building up its populations and needs more and more food - which includes more and more grazing animals well... that can certainly do it, too. Once dense vegetation areas start disappearing from the earth's surface, climatic changes occur. Lush green places turn into deserts. The Middle East is an example of what I'm talking about. Overpopulation brought about the need for more food animals. Sheep, goats, cattle - animals like that. And, of course, these animals overgrazed the area. Climate changed because there was less vegetation which meant less rainfall - and over hundreds of years sand dunes took over.

Did you know that...

... a camel's foot is specially designed for walking on soft sand? Here's how that works.... There are two toes on each foot - each having a nail. Now - and this is the important thing - the bones of these toes, having expanded sideways, support two wide, heavy pads - which are on the bottom of each hoof. These sole-pads actually spread out when weight is put on them and the weight is concentrated on the pads - not on the hooves. In fact, only the front ends of the hooves actually touch the ground.

It's a little different with the lamoids. Their terrain in South America is mountainous. The pads of their toes have adapted to move around - sort of adjust - to help the lamoids keep their balance on gravel and rocky slopes.

Here's something else that's interesting....

Did you know that...

...a camel can eat just about anything? Even when there isn't any grass left - when even a goat can't scratch out a living - a camel can exist... by eating leaves and other tree parts, even foliage that other animals can't ingest like the thorns of the acacia tree. That's why, in some parts of Kenya, where severe droughts are often experienced, people are now beginning to replace cattle with camels. This way they still have animals that produce milk and meat. Yes, camels can go a long time without drinking. They have adapted to utilizing the moisture from leaves, twigs, sticks and roughage. They can actually metabolize anything vegetable that grows in the desert. They're not alone in this - gerbils and other desert-dwelling small mammals like rodents - also have this ability to metabolize water from scrub vegetation.

Did you know that...

...camels store water in their stomach lining, not their hump? The hump, on the other hand, apparently offers some protection from the sun by absorbing heat and also carries stored fat that, when metabolized, provides energy as well as water.

And here are other interesting tidbits

. A camel's kidneys are able to accommodate thick, syrupy concentrations of urine. Concentrations that may be twice as salty as sea water. Now that's a fantastic adaptation because the longer the camel can delay water loss, the longer it can do without water.

. A camel's body temperature also figures into the equation. Some scientists report that there's almost a 10-degree difference between a camel's low nighttime and high daytime temperatures. Others have found that the fluctuation is about 14 degrees. Whatever...  the important thing is the camel's temperature drops at night and rises very, very slowly during the day - so it's a long, long time before the camel has to sweat to cool off.

A camel is able to lose up to 27% of its body weight without any detrimental effect on its system. (Some have been known to safely lose body water up to 40% of their body weight and not suffer shock or die.) This adaptation has certainly proven useful because distances from water hole to water hole are sometimes very great and it's a long time before it can "refuel."  That loss of body moisture can be recovered, by the way. But it takes a camel about 10 minutes of drinking to do it. (In one experiment, a camel drank 27 U.S. gallons in a few minutes.) It generally takes a Dromedary camel 10 minutes to imbibe about 30 gallons.

Camels can take in these huge amounts of water without suffering osmotic problems because the water they ingest is absorbed very slowly from their stomach and intestines.

. Camels are natural ecologists and conservationists. When feeding, they only select a few leaves from each plant. When foraging in herds, they spread out over a very large area so they don't deplete all of the vegetation. That kind of selectivity - plus the fact that they eat parts of foliage that other animals can't - reduces the stress placed on plant life and diminishes competition with other herbivores. Camels preserve their environment better than cattle.
 
Riding a camel

It's really quite an experience. First of all, the camel pushes down right flat on the ground, and when you get on, you have a kind of a saddle that's a cross between a horses saddle and something called a howdah that's used for riding elephants. There's also lots of blankets to sort of make the area around the hump level. It's not the most comfortable saddle in the world, and you really have to hang on - especially when the camel rises to a standing position. That works like this...

Once you're "up top," the first thing that happens is the camel's back legs come up and you're pitched forward at an angle that's almost a headlong descent! Then the front legs come up and you're jerked - sort of thrown very high in the air. (See what I mean about hanging on?) But once you're settled in, the walk is fairly sturdy. Nothing to worry about there... except some swaying. You do rock a little bit - so if you get seasick aboard ship, you might get seasick on a camel. Maybe that's one of the reasons camels are called the Ships of the Desert.

Camel safaris have become a fairly popular activity in certain parts of Africa. I highly recommend them. It's a great vantage point from up there. You're up fairly high and you're moving along rather slowly so it's a great way to see wildlife.

Caution! Don't, whatever you do don't get a camel angry at you. It can get very aggressive. In fact, some camels have to have their canine teeth extracted because they can deliver an extremely nasty bite.

Did you know that...

...a camel's canine teeth - which are slightly back in the jaw, by the way - look like the teeth of a lion? It really surprised me when I saw those long, potentially dangerous teeth of theirs. The big camels will often fight amongst themselves and use their canines to inflict a lot of damage.

There's something else I have to warn you about.... Camels can expectorate fluid. In other words they can spit. Other members of their family - the llamas, vicuñas, guanacos (probably the original wild member of the camel family), and alpacas also expectorate. They all use their ability to spit saliva as a defensive tactic. It would sure make me keep my distance. Another thing... keep away from the big male camels when they're breeding. They really drool a lot during the breeding season. They can be pretty offensive.