Famous myths and interesting facts about camels

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There are 3 modern types of camels:

  1. One-humped camel (or dromedary (dromedary), or Arabian) – makes up 94% of the camel population worldwide. Wild one-humped camels have not survived in our time. In the vast territories of Afro-Eurasia with an arid and hot climate, dromedaries remain important economic animals that perform many functions and continue to play an important role in the culture of individual peoples of the world.
  2. Bactrian camel (or Bactrian) – makes up the rest of the camels. The Bactrian camel living in Central Asia was domesticated by people a long time ago, but rare herds of wild Bactrians are still found in the deserts of Mongolia and Western China. Bactrian got its name from the name of the ancient region of Central Asia, Bactria, where it was apparently first domesticated. Domestic bactrian camels are bred mainly in Kazakhstan and Mongolia, using them for the same purposes as dromedaries.
  3. The wild Bactrian camel is a separate species and is currently endangered. These are migratory animals that move in groups of 6 to 20 individuals. The wild Bactrian lives in the large Gobi Desert, which is located on the territory of Mongolia and China.

    Wild Bactrians, as a rule, are noticeably smaller than domestic ones, and their small, pointed humps are separated by a fairly wide saddle. The large humps of the domestic Bactrian are most often stacked on top of each other, with almost no gap between them.

Famous myths and interesting facts about camels

Dromedar (one-humped camel) | pixabay.com

Famous myths and interesting facts about camels

Bactrian (bactrian camel) | pixabay.com

Famous myths and interesting facts about camels

Wild Bactrian | pixabay.com

Perhaps due to the fact that camels are not so common in our country, and there are many misconceptions about these animals. Consider the most famous of them.

 

Is a camel a record holder?

Many people think that it is the camel that can go the longest without food. In fact, he is not a champion in this regard. The camel is far from the male emperor penguin, who, helping the female to incubate chicks, does not remember food for up to 130 days! And the most caring dad is far from an ordinary bug, which can “not have a drop in its mouth” for 2 years. The tarantula "surpassed" the bug: it is able to live without food for 2,5 years. But the common marsh turtle, capable of starving up to 5 years, “bypassed” everyone.

The musk turtle can live in pure nitrogen for up to 12 hours. Any other mammal can withstand no more than 5 minutes in this substance. The amazing ability of turtles is explained by the fact that they are able to “switch” in such a situation to anaerobic respiration.

As for the camel, its internal organs are designed so that it can stay without food for as long as possible. There is practically no urea in his urine. As scientists have established, it enters the rumen fluid, where bacteria immediately use it for protein synthesis. This bacterial protein moves through the gastrointestinal tract, where it is digested and absorbed by the body. It turns out that the camel has a unique ability to repeatedly use nitrogen to restore decomposed protein, while in other animals, after deamination of protein amino acids, this nitrogen has already been lost for the body and is excreted in the form of urea. It is due to the repeated use of nitrogen that a camel can exist for a long time (up to a month) without food or on a meager ration.

It is well known that camels are very unpretentious in the choice of food. But this does not mean at all that they can eat everything in a row, as they sometimes think. These animals eat such plants of the desert, which are practically not eaten by other inhabitants of the desert. More N.M. Przhevalsky (Russian traveler, geographer and naturalist.) wrote that camels that grew up in the desert, once on abundant pastures, lose weight and eventually die. Perhaps the reason for this is the great need of living "ships of the desert" for salt. It is known that even in the desert, where plants already contain a lot of salts, camels additionally eat salted clay on takyrs (smooth, devoid of vegetation soils).

Interesting fact

Camels can drink salty (sea) water.

Famous myths and interesting facts about camels

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Famous myths and interesting facts about camels

wikimedia.org

 

Where do camels store water?

Many people think that camels store water in their humps while wandering in the desert. However, in reality, these humps are not filled with water, but with fat, due to which camels live with a lack or complete absence of food.

There is a fairly widespread misconception that a camel can get water through the oxidation of fat contained in the humps. Proponents of this theory rely on the fact that when 100 grams of fat is oxidized in the body, 107 grams of water is formed. And if the hump of a camel going out into the desert weighs, for example, 40 kilograms, then after the oxidation of fat, the camel will receive almost 43 liters of water! The stock is pretty decent.

However, if everything is so simple, then why can't other animals adapt to life in the desert? After all, everyone has fat. It was found that a large amount of oxygen is needed for the oxidation of fat, and for this the animal must breathe heavily. With each breath, dry desert air enters his lungs, leaving the body completely saturated with moisture. So fat has no advantage in terms of water supply, and therefore the camel's hump is not a reservoir for water.

The camel's hump is composed of adipose tissues, in which energy reserves are accumulated in case of prolonged starvation, and when food becomes tight, it noticeably decreases in size. However, at the same time, water is still released from fat, and the unique features of the camel's body, which we will now discuss, help to preserve it.

The thing is that water in the body of a camel is stored in a “bound” state: water is absorbed by all tissues of the body, like a sponge, even erythrocytes gain it in reserve. And for a long time not to drink (up to two weeks) camels are able because they practically do not lose the received moisture. Everything in this animal is arranged in such a way as to minimize the loss of precious moisture.

Due to a number of biological features, the camel consumes water very economically and does not sweat even in forty-degree heat. Its body is covered with thick and dense hair, which prevents the evaporation of moisture from the body and saves the animal from overheating (on the back of a camel on a hot afternoon, it is heated to 80 °C, and the skin under it is only up to 40 °C).

A thrifty animal never opens its mouth (as dogs do in hot weather) so that water does not evaporate from the surface of the oral cavity, and does not breathe as intensively as others, because the body also loses water with exhaled air.

Interesting fact

Camels perfectly smell moisture and can smell fresh pasture or fresh water from 40–60 kilometers away, as well as notice thunderclouds in the sky and go in their direction in the hope of getting to the place where it will rain.

Fresh camel droppings consist of a mass of coarse, almost dry plant fibers. It contains 6-7 times less water than cattle droppings. It also allows the camel to conserve vast amounts of water.

Dehydration in other animals is accompanied by a significant health disorder: with a loss of 10% of water, they experience weakness, increased heart rate, thickening of the blood, and a disorder of the nervous system. A camel can shrink by a quarter of its mass. And nothing – he walks, dutifully holding packs on his back. It turns out that the loss of water by the body of an animal (unlike others) does not affect the composition of the blood. True, at the same time, the water content in the tissues of the body decreases. The camel loses weight (shrinks) and becomes like a skeleton covered with leather. And when the animal receives water, it immediately drinks 10–12 buckets and in 15–20 minutes restores its former appearance by saturating the tissues with water. Observations have shown that in a few hours he can drink 186 liters of water, quenching his thirst.

Camel-record holder first drank 94 liters, and then, a few hours later, another 186 liters.

And in one experiment, a camel was kept without water for 8 days in the summer, during which he lost 100 kg. When they gave him water after that, he drank 10 liters in 103 minutes, replacing the lost 100 kg of weight.

One of the “tools” for saving water is the nose of a camel. Moisture released during breathing from the camel's nostrils is collected in a special fold and enters the mouth. Due to this, the camel additionally saves a lot of precious moisture. And at night, during sleep, the camel's nostrils absorb moisture from the surrounding air.

Contribute to the conservation of water and fluctuations in body temperature of the animal. In summer, they reach 6 °C: at night, a camel's body temperature is 34 °C, and during the day, at the hottest time, it rises to 40 °C, and only then does he start to sweat. If there were, say, a cow in the place of a desert dweller, then, sweating all the time, she would spend a huge amount of water on cooling her body to a constant temperature.

And one more important point. It turns out that with high dehydration, the blood of a camel remains liquid, while in humans and other animals it thickens, which causes death (a person dies in a hot desert from heat stroke with a loss of 12% of weight, while a camel can lose up to 40% of weight bodies).

Famous myths and interesting facts about camels

pixabay.com

Famous myths and interesting facts about camels

pixabay.com

 

Camels – "ships of the desert"

Many people think that long gone are the days when strings of loaded camels marched majestically through the deserts. However, machines far from everywhere managed to replace the “ships of the desert”.

Interestingly, in the Arab countries, ships are called "camels of the sea."

For example, in the Sahara Desert, just like centuries ago, a camel "fleet" regularly delivers salt from salt mines to the oases and settlements of North Africa. Other goods are also transported on these animals, because a camel passes through a desert area more easily than tractors with trailers, not to mention cars.

Note that the camel is used not only as a vehicle, but also gives wool, felt, milk, meat. As V.I. Gershun (scientist-epizootologist, doctor of veterinary sciences, author of 17 books and many works), this animal "is able to replace a ram, a horse and a cow."

Interesting Facts
  • Butter, shubat koumiss, and cheese are prepared from camel milk. The milk itself is darker than cow's milk, fatter and sweeter, contains a lot of proteins and vitamin C (significantly higher than in cow's) and, as has long been proven, has healing properties.
  • The meat of young animals is not inferior to beef in taste and nutritional qualities.
  • Camel wool is of high quality (it is valued above sheep), which contains up to 85% down.

Alfred Brehm (a German zoologist and traveler, author of the famous popular science work Animal Life) described one-humped camels without much sympathy. He noted in his Life of Animals: “Without a doubt, the camel is the most useful of all domestic animals in Africa, but at the same time it is the most unfriendly, stupid, stubborn and unpleasant creature that you can imagine. The head of the dromedary is rather short, while the muzzle is elongated and swollen; during arousal, a large leathery bladder of a nasty appearance, the so-called howler, bulges out of its mouth; then the camel begins to roar, sniffle and grind its teeth. Eyes with a dull expression are large, ears are very small. The upper lip hangs over the lower, and the latter hangs down; when the animal moves quickly, its lips constantly shake up and down, which gives an extremely unpleasant appearance to an already ugly animal. There are 2 glands on the back of the head, secreting from time to time a liquid with a disgusting smell... But in general, the spiritual qualities of a camel are such that even Arabs generous with praise cannot find them for him, although in the desert many of them could not exist without this animal."

It is unlikely that those who directly communicate with the "ships of the desert" would agree with this opinion. The following legend testifies to how much the Arabs value camels: “Allah created man from clay. After the deed, he had two clay lumps left. From one he fashioned a camel, and from the second – a date palm.

Some more interesting facts about camels
  • The vision of camels is so developed that they can see a walking person for a kilometer, and a moving car – for 3-5 kilometers.
  • Long shaggy eyelashes reliably protect their large eyes from sand, and slit nostrils can be tightly closed if necessary.
  • Camels are also good swimmers, despite the fact that most of them have never seen a single body of water. They swim quite well, while tilting the body slightly to the side.
  • A camel can travel 30–40 km a day on long journeys. A camel with a rider can travel up to 100 km per day, with an average speed of 10–12 km/h.
  • Camels can live up to 40 years. Camels from 4 to 25 years old are used as a draft force; they can carry up to 50% of their weight. And the mass of an adult camel is 500-800 kg.

Famous myths and interesting facts about camels

pixabay.com

Famous myths and interesting facts about camels

pixabay.com

Famous myths and interesting facts about camels

pixabay.com

Famous myths and interesting facts about camels

pixabay.com

 

The Fallacy of the Camel and the Eye of a Needle

The New Testament says that “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” I must say that this phrase caused bewilderment for a long time. Some Bible scholars even claimed that there was a very narrow gate in Jerusalem, popularly called the "Eye of the Needle", through which camels could not pass.

In fact, everything is much simpler. The fact is that the ancient Greek word "kamelos" ("camel") is very close in sound and spelling to the word "kamelos" ("rope"). An inaccurate translation distorted a completely reasonable and visual comparison: it is more likely that a rope will pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man into the Kingdom of God.

 

Are they artiodactyls?

For a long time, camels were classified as artiodactyls, and some still think so. However, camels do not have real hooves, they rely on callused pillows. In addition, there are many more significant differences between the “ships of the desert” and artiodactyls. That is why zoologists have identified camels in a special group – the corn-footed order.

Callous-footed animals have two-toed limbs, on which there are only blunt curved claws, and there are no hooves as a functional organ. In addition to camels, the callus-footed order also includes their South American relatives – these are humpless camels: llamas and vicuñas.

Lama

Lama | wikimedia.org

Vicuna

Vicuna | pixabay.com

 

Do camels like to spit?

After the release of the film "Gentlemen of Fortune", many people in zoos became afraid to approach the camel, fearing that he might not like something and he would spit. But really, there is nothing to be afraid of. The episode in which the camel spat on Savely Kramarov, we will leave on the conscience of the authors of the film.

Interesting fact

In zoos, one of the most popular questions to employees is still: “Is it true that camels spit all the time?”

As we said above, everything in a camel is “arranged” in such a way as to conserve moisture, and therefore it will not waste it on a stubborn person. Yes, and it is difficult to anger a camel: it is a smart, patient and peaceful animal. However, if he is angry, he does not spit, but kicks and bites (camels have 38 teeth).

Famous myths and interesting facts about camels

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However, as experts note, sometimes animals still use the above technique, but not against humans, but against their fellow tribesmen during mating tournaments. In addition to biting, kicking and trying to knock down an opponent, males allow themselves to spit on him. It can be seen that when it comes to a pretty female, you no longer pay attention to saving moisture.