CAMELS: A BRIEF OVERVIEW By Daniel Coats CAMELS: A BRIEF OVERVIEW

One Hump or two? A one-humped camel is a dromedary (Greek “dromos” meaning “road”) Two-humped camels are Bactrian camels (named after a region in northern Afghanistan where they were once common, though they apparently do not live in that region today) Embryos of both types of camels have two humps, but in dromedaries, the humps merge into one before birth 80% of the world’s estimated 19 million camels are dromedaries and 20% are Bactrian

PHYSICAL CHARECTARISTICS Most authorities believe that camels have three stomachs Camels chew cud, like cattle, goats and deer The camel has 34 teeth, which keep growing, requiring them to eat hard materials (such as branches) to keep their teeth short Camels need a lot of salt in their diets A camel can drink a huge amount of water at one time, but can then go days without food or water Camels like to graze for 8-10 hrs. per day Adapted to desert environments, camels can endure body temperatures of more than 10°F above average Camel humps store fat (not water as commonly believed)

CAMEL LIFECYCLE Camels live about 40 years and are typically healthy (they have very strong immune systems) Baby camels, unfortunately, have a high mortality rate – 20% to 40% in the first year Young camels stay close to their mothers for five years Baby camels need sleep, but adults don’t seem to

CAMELS AT WORK Most of the world’s camels are domesticated, but there are some wild ones in Mongolia and China A dromedary can carry 600 lbs. and a Bactrian can carry 1,000 lbs. Camels typically move at 3 mph, but they can travel much faster, such as in races It is important not to overwork camels, as they can die suddenly due to overwork Camels like music and even poetry!

CAMEL HISTORY It is unclear when camels were first domesticated, but one theory holds that this first occurred in southern Arabia about 4,000 years ago Camels have an important place in Middle East history beginning around 1000 B.C. The Bible forbids the eating of camels (Deuteronomy 14:7), a command still observed by orthodox Jews and Coptic Christians in Egypt, but Arab peoples today and many ancient civilizations in the past have eaten camels (a practice that is controversial today due to conservation efforts) Arab tribes would record camel genealogies back for 10 generations and the Arabic language has many camel-related terms

CAMELS NEAR AND FAR Camels were introduced into Australia in 1840 and there were as many as 20,000 domesticated camels by the 1920s, when cars and trains began to replace them in usefulness In the U.S., Jefferson Davis (later president of the Confederacy) sponsored an 1855 project to bring camels to the southwest U.S. for desert patrols; the Confederates used camels Camels were used in both world wars

CAMELS IN CULTURE Camels have been depicted in the art, literature and poetry of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and East Asia A particularly good camel artist was John Frederick Lewis (1805-1876) – some examples at right

WORLD CAMEL CENSUS Following are the estimated numbers of key camel populations today East Africa – 10 million+ Australia – 1 million Saudi Arabia – 600,000 Mongolia/China - 600,000 India – 300,000-450,000

DID YOU KNOW? There are beachside camel rides in Australia? The Camel Mobile Library Service in Kenya, Africa regularly brings books to people living in remote regions of that country; similar services exist in Mongolia

SOURCE Irwin, Robert (2010). Camel. London: Reaktion Books Ltd. Perhaps the best book written on camels, for a general audience. A great online source is www.camelphotos.com