Camel: Profile and Information

A camel is an ungulate that has an even toe. It is categorized under the genus Camelus and has distinctive fat deposits on its back, known as humps.

Camels have been domesticated for a long time as livestock, providing textiles (felt from hair and fiber) and food (meat and milk).

Camels are hard-working animals, especially in the desert habitat, and are the main source of cargo transport & human carriers.

There are three extant species of camel. The two-humped Bactrian makes up 6% of the world camel population, and the one-humped dromedary makes up 94%.

The Wild Bactrian camel is an endangered species that is separate from the others.

The word camel is used informally in a wider sense, while the correct term to describe all the seven species of the family Camelidae is camelid.

There are only three true camel species, which are dromedary or Arabian camel (camelus dromedaries), Bactrian camel (camelus bactrianus), and wild Bactrian camel (camelus ferus).

There are also four New World camelids: the alpaca, the llama, the vicuña, and the guanaco.

The word camel was derived from the Latin word camelus, the Greek word κάμηλος (kamēlos) from Hebrew, and Phoenician or Arabic word gāmāl.

Evolution

The Protylopus was the earliest known camel, and it lived in North America 40 – 50 million years ago (mya) during the Eocene era. Its size was as small as rabbits, and it lived in the open woodlands of what is now known as South Dakota.

35 million years ago (mya), Poebrotherium had a similar trait to llamas and camels but was the size of a goat. The hoofed Stenomylus, which existed around that time, walked on the tips of its toes. The long-necked Aepycamelus metamorphosed in the Miocene.

The still-existing Old World camels had an early relative called Paracamelus, which existed in the upper Miocene to the Middle Pleistocene.

Around 3 to 5 million years ago, the North American Camelidae spread out to the Southern part of America as the Great American Interchange through the aid of the newly formed Isthmus of Panama. This gave rise to the guanacos, related animals, and Asia via the Bering land bridge.

At the beginning of 2006, some surprising finds of Paracamelus fossils on Ellesmere Island in the high Canadian Arctic indicate that the still-existing Old World camels might be descendants of a large boreal ancestor.

The ancestor might have had a hump that evolved as an adaptation to cold climate. This creature was estimated to stand around 2.7 meters (9 ft) tall.

According to the fossil records, one million years ago (mya), the Bactrian camel diverged from the dromedary. Camelops hesternus was the last camel found in North America, and it vanished along with short-faced bears, horses, mastodons, mammoths, saber-tooth cats, and many other megafaunas.

Scientific Classification

Species

• Camelus bactrianus (Bactrian)
• Camelus dromedaries (Dromedary)
• Camelus ferus (wild Bactrian)
• †Camelus gigas (fossil)
• †Camelus grattardi (fossil)
• †Camelus knoblochi (fossil)
• †Camelus moreli (fossil)
• †Camelus sivalensis (fossil)
• †Camelus thomasi (fossil)

Description

The average lifespan of a camel is 40 – 50 years. A full-grown dromedary stands 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) at the shoulder and 7 ft 1 in (2.15 m) at the hump. Bactrian camels are usually a foot taller than the dromedary camel.

Camels can run up to 40 mph (65 km/h) in short bursts and sustain speeds up to 25 mph (40 km/h). Bactrian camels weigh 660 – 2,200 lb (300 – 1,000 kg), and dromedaries 660 – 1,320 lb (300 – 600 kg).

The toes are mobile, creating a wide space on a camel’s hoof, providing a supplemental grip for different soil sediments. A male dromedary has an organ called a dulla in its throat.

It is a large inflatable sac that extrudes from the mouth when trying to attract females and rut to assert dominance. It looks like a long, swollen, pink tongue hanging at the side of its mouth.

Camels mate with the female sitting on the ground while the male mounts from behind. The male usually ejaculates 3 – 4 times within a single mating season. The only ungulate that mate in a sitting position is the Camelids.

Diet

Camels are not picky and use their thick lips to eat things that most animals don’t, such as thorny plants. Camels are herbivores, which means their diet is based on plants.

One important thing about camels is filling up water whenever it is available. They can drink 113 liters (30 gallons) of water in just 13 minutes. Camels rehydrate faster than any other mammals.

According to the University of Singapore, when there is little to no water and food, the camel’s hump, which is made up of fat, releases water. The hump releases 1.13 grams of water per 9.3 grams of fat.

Habitat

The two types of camels found in different parts of the world are the dromedary and Bactrian. The dromedary camel, also called the Arabian camel, can be found in the Middle East and North Africa.

The Bactrian camel is native to Central Asia. Regardless of the species, camels are usually found in prairies, steppes, or deserts.

People think camels can only survive in hot climates and adapt well to temperatures ranging from -29 degrees C (20 degrees F) to 49 degrees C (120 degrees F).

Habits

A group of camels staying together is called a herd, while a group of male camels is called a bachelor herd. The dominant male leads the herd, and they are social animals that greet each other by blowing each other in the face.

Offspring

After 12 – 14 months gestation, the mother camel will find a safe spot to have her offspring. Female camels have only one baby, but rare cases occur where camels have twins.

Baby camels are regarded as calves.  A newborn calf walks within 30 minutes after birth. The mother and the newborn join the herd two weeks after the birth. A camel becomes fully matured at 7 years of age. The lifespan of a camel is around 17 years.