Imagine a hump on your back, which is even larger than your height? Feeling uncomfortable even thinking about it? Then imagine the condition of those camels that have two instead of one hump? These four legged animals are known for their process of storing food and water in these humps, although they don’t store water or food in their hump. They have something else for storage in these humps, which will be unveiled later on.
Camels have the tendency to survive in extremely hot climates for long duration without consuming food for days. They can perform this action because of their ability to store fats in their hump. They take in moisture from the plants they eat, and hence can eliminate the need of drinking water for days. They are also well known to be equipped with a capability to chew thorny cactus without harming their mouth. A few facts about camel are as follow.
- Humps
Most of the camels are equipped with a single hump but a few Asian camels have a pair of humps, which they use to store fats, and not water or food. This fat is utilised when they are living in regions with scarcity of food and water. Camels are known to survive a week without eating or drinking. They can do this because of the stored fats in their hump, and also due to the unique oval shaped Red Blood Cells, which allow a flow of blood even when the camel is dehydrated. It is a well known fact that the hump dries up when the camel utilise the fats and gets swollen back when the animal eats up food and drinks water.
- Diet
Unlike humans, camels are not choosy when it comes to their diet. They can consume almost anything as their parted mouth allows them to chew anything without hurting it. This is the reason, they can easily eat up the thorny cactus, without harming themselves. Also, due to this reason, camels can survive in the scarce vegetation of desert areas. Their body is maintained in such a manner that they can absorb most of the moisture from the food they consume. The process is so refined that their feces is extremely dry and is directly used to form fuel. Their urine is as viscous as a syrup, so that they could lose the least amount of water from their body.
- Habitat
Camels are usually known for their ability to live in hot climates. They don’t sweat easily. Sweat comes out of their skin only when the atmospheric temperature has reached as high as 41 degrees Celsius, and moreover, they can lost 25% of their body fluids in this sweat, while in humans, this ratio is only 15%. Camels can even survive in temperatures as low as negative 29 degrees Celsius. Camels usually like living and roaming in a group or herd rather than being alone. This is one of the reasons giving an inference that camels are social animals. They maintain a good relationship with humans as well.
- Nose and Legs
Camels are equipped with an extremely efficient body structure. They have developed themselves in such a manner that least amount of moisture could leave their body. They can adjust their nostrils, that is close them whenever required. They also have the ability to trap the outgoing moisture through their nose and just make the dirt particles leave their nose. Camels also have the ability equipped by very less amount of species. They can kick in all the four directions with all their four legs.
- Use of Camels
There is no need to mention that camels are the only animals to replace wheel since its discovery. Wheels cannot work in the dense sand of deserts, where only camel’s feet can cover distances. It has been estimated that camels have been domesticated for 3000 years, and are still being used for the same purpose, that is to cover distances from point A to point B. Ever since, they have been used for this purpose, along with some other things. As it is obvious, camel’s meat is consumed as food by humans. Not only meat, but other parts of camel are also a delicacy in some parts of the world. Camel’s skin is used to make leather, but the most effective use of camel is its milk. Camel’s milk, unlike cow’s milk, is full of Vitamin C and other various minerals. If consumed unpasteurized, it would lead to vomiting and other causalities. Camel’s milk also has the property that it doesnot coagulate without souring it. So, making cheese out of camel’s milk is a little cumbersome task.
The word, “Camel” has been adopted by a Latin word meaning “gãmãl”, meaning going without. Camel is really a mysterious animal and a loyal pet. Its body mechanism is so enhanced that the modern technology has failed to build such a machine that is as efficient as the metabolism of a camel’s body. These miracles of nature remain undiscovered and are used just as a Beast of Burden, whereas they are much more than that. The brown body matches with the colour of the sand, where they usually are found.
Camels are the kings of desert. No other animal can perform in the desert as camels do. This is the reason, why camels are being pet by humans since time immemorial. These camels have helped humans in various forms like providing milk, skin as leather, and meat to be consumed, but still, these animals get tortured by a few people. These people exploit them by burdening them excessively and making them cover hundreds of kilometres on a stretch. Although they can do this with a little difficulty, but still, they need to have a stature maintained in the hearts of their owners.
Camels, along with being kings of desert, are also great pets. Domesticating camels is said to be better than domesticating horses, but the disappointing fact is that camels are not much domesticated in regions other than deserts. Although these animals can survive in a range of temperature, as already mentioned, but still, they don’t constitute in the demography of most of the country, because of its less population. Being a pet, they are good to travel upon, and are really good listeners, which I feel is the quality that every pet enthusiast seeks in its pet. They don’t need much other aspects in shelter than a horse. A barn or a stable, where they can graze and mate is all they require. The litter they create is not much hard to handle, because it is really dried up, as they utilise most of the water inside their body before ejecting their waste. The feces they eject can be used as a manure, which is another positive prospect of having a camel as a pet. Most of the camels have a soothing colour, a light brownish shade, which pleases the eyes. Some people find camel as an ugly animal, but then, it is said that “Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder”. It is said that they spit out when angry, which seems to be awkward and disgusting, if you are thinking to pet them, but as a truth, they don’t spit out. They normally keep on chewing grass, and open their mouth when they are distressed or angry, when the chewed grass flows out! Even reading it seems disgusting, but the fact is, this process is seldom followed by them, as if the pet owner keeps them happy and entertained, they would also behave the same. They are very social animals, and ideal pets to get your hands on.