Social Studies 6 th Grade 2009/2010

1.There are around 14 million dromedaries alive today. 2.They can eat almost anything be it vegetation, meat, or bone,-- salty or sweet, a camels stomach knows no limits. 3.Arabian camels, also known as dromedaries, have only one hump, but they employ it to great effect. The hump stores up to 80 pounds (36 kilograms) of fat, which a camel can break down into water and energy when sustenance is not available. 4.The camel has played such an important role in Arab culture that there are over 160 words for "camel" in the Arabic language. Where they live!!!

5. Camels were used by the Nabateans in the first century BC, on their way from the Gulf of Aqaba to the trading capital of Petra in central Jordan. 6. Bactrian camels grow a shaggy coat in the winter to protect them from the freezing cold… in the extremely hot summer they shed their coats… they can survive from minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 29 degrees Celsius) in the winter to 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius) in the summer. 7. Camels are herbivores… because they live in the dessert, they have to be able to eat desert plants… thorny cacti would cause other animals a great deal of difficulty. 8. Humans have used camels for their wool, milk, meat, leather, and even dung that can be used for fuel… camel milk is an important food of the desert nomadic tribes… a camel can provide a large amount of meat for these people also… the camel's hump is considered a delicacy in these cultures. 9. A mother camel gives birth in months to one calf… when the calf is born it weighs 80 pounds and is most often pure white… it takes the calf several hours before it can stand up… males reach maturity between 6 and 8 years… females reach maturity in 3 years. 10. They live in deserts, mountains, and other arid places