An animal similar to a camel. Bactrian camel: name, interesting facts, photos

Camel is large mammal an animal that belongs to the placental infraclass, superorder Laurasiatheria, order Artiodactyla, suborder Callus, family camelids, genus Camelus (lat. Camelus).

In a number foreign languages the word “camel” sounds similar to its Latin name: in English the camel is called camel, the French call it chameau, the Germans - Kamel, and the Spaniards - camello.

The origin of the Russian-language name of the animal has two versions. According to one of them, in the Gothic language a camel was called “ulbandus”, but, interestingly, this name applied to an elephant. And the confusion arose from the fact that the people who named the large animal that way had never seen either camels or camels. Then the Slavs adopted the word, and “ulbandus” turned into “camel”. A more plausible version identifies the name of the animal with its Kalmyk name “byurgyud”. But no one doubts the fact that the camel is a real ship of the desert, covering hundreds of kilometers across vast expanses of sand.

Camel - description, characteristics, structure.

A camel is an animal that has quite large sizes: average height at the withers of an adult is about 210-230 cm, and the weight of a camel reaches 300-700 kg. Particularly large individuals weigh more than a ton. Body length is 250-360 cm for two-humped camels, 230-340 cm for one-humped camels. Males are always larger than females.

The anatomy and physiology of these mammals are a clear indicator of their adaptability to life in harsh and dry conditions. The camel has a strong, dense build, a long U-shaped curved neck and a rather narrow, elongated skull. The animal's ears are small and round, sometimes almost completely buried in thick fur.

The large eyes of a camel are reliably protected from sand, sun and wind by thick, long eyelashes. The nictitating membrane, the third eyelid, protects the animal's eyes from sand and wind. The nostrils are shaped like narrow slits that can close tightly, preventing moisture loss and protecting during sandstorms.

Taken from the site: ephemeralimpressions.blogspot.ru

A camel has 34 teeth in its mouth. The animals' lips are rough and fleshy, adapted for tearing off thorny and tough vegetation. Upper lip bifurcated.

Large calluses are located on the chest, wrists, elbows and knees of domestic animals, allowing the mammal to painlessly lower itself and lie on the hot ground. Wild individuals do not have calluses on their elbows and knees. Each camel's leg ends in a cloven foot with some kind of claw located on a calloused pad. Two-toed feet are ideal for walking on rocky and sandy terrain.

The camel's tail is quite short in relation to the body and is about 50-58 cm. At the end of the tail there is a tassel formed by a tuft of long hair.

Camels have a thick and dense coat that prevents moisture from evaporating in hot weather and provides warmth on cold nights. The camel's fur is slightly curly, and its color can be very diverse: from light to dark brown and almost black. On the back of the animals’ heads there are paired glands that secrete a special odorous secretion, with which camels mark their territory by bending their necks and wiping themselves on stones and soil.

Contrary to popular belief, a camel's hump contains fat, not water. For example, the hump of a Bactrian camel contains up to 150 kg of fat. The hump protects the animal's back from overheating and is a reservoir for energy reserves. There are 2 closely related species of camels: one-humped and two-humped, having, respectively, 1 or 2 humps, laid evolutionary development, as well as some differences associated with living conditions.

Camels retain fluid in the scar tissue of the stomach, so they can easily tolerate long-term dehydration. The structure of camels' blood cells is such that during prolonged dehydration, when another mammal would have died long ago, their blood does not thicken. Camels can survive without water for a couple of weeks, and without food they can live for about a month. The red blood cells of these animals are not round, but oval in shape, which is a rare exception among mammals. Without access to water for a long time, a camel can lose up to 40% of its weight. If an animal loses 100 kg in a week, then after receiving water it will quench its thirst within 10 minutes. In total, the camel will drink more than 100 liters of water at a time and make up for the lost 100 kg of weight, recovering literally before our eyes.

All camels have excellent eyesight: they are able to spot a person a kilometer away, and a moving car 3-5 km away. Animals have a well-developed sense of smell: they sense a source of water at a distance of 40-60 km, easily anticipate the approach of a thunderstorm and go to where the showers will occur.

Despite the fact that the majority of these mammals have never seen large bodies of water, camels can swim well, tilting their bodies slightly to the side. A camel runs at an amble, and the speed of a camel can reach 23.5 km/h. Some individuals of wild haptagai are capable of accelerating up to 65 km/h.

Enemies of camels in nature.

The main natural enemies of the camel are. Previously, when camels were found in their habitats, they also attacked both wild and domestic animals.

Life expectancy of a camel.

On average, a camel lives about 40-50 years. This applies to both one-humped and two-humped species. Life expectancy in captivity ranges from 20 to 40 years.

What does a camel eat?

Camels are capable of digesting very rough and non-nutritious food. Bactrian camels eat various shrub and semi-shrub vegetation in the desert: saltwort, camel thorns, barnyard grass, parsifolia, sand acacia, wormwood, onions, ephedra, and young branches of saxaul. With the onset of cold weather in rare oases, animals feed on reeds and eat poplar leaves. In the absence of main sources of food, Bactrians do not disdain the skins and bones of dead animals, as well as any products made from these materials. The dromedary camel feeds on any plant foods, including rough, hard and salty foods.

By consuming succulent grass, a camel can live without water for up to 10 days, obtaining the necessary moisture from the vegetation. Desert animals visit springs once every few days, and the camel drinks a lot at a time. For example, a Bactrian camel is capable of drinking 130-135 liters of water at a time. A notable feature of khaptagai (wild Bactrian camels) is their ability to drink brackish water without harm to the body, while domestic camels do not drink it.

All camels can withstand prolonged hunger, and it has been scientifically proven that overfeeding has a much worse effect on the health of these animals. By autumn, in years with abundant food, camels noticeably gain weight, but in winter they suffer much more than other animals: due to the lack of real hooves, they are not able to dig through snowdrifts in search of suitable food.

Domestic camels are extremely indiscriminate in their food and are practically omnivorous. In captivity or in a zoo, animals happily eat fresh grass and silage, any compound feed, vegetables, fruits, grain, branches and foliage of trees and shrubs. Also, the diet of domestic camels must include salt bars to satisfy the body's need for salt.

The three-chambered stomach helps the animal digest food. The mammal swallows food without first chewing, then regurgitates the partially digested food, the cud, and chews it.

Types of camels, photos and names.

The camel genus includes 2 species:

Bactrian camel.

Below is a more detailed description of them.

The dromedary, or one-humped camel, has survived to this day exclusively in its domestic form, not counting newly feral individuals. “Dromedary” is translated from Greek as “running,” and the animal was nicknamed “Arabian” in honor of Arabia, where these camels were domesticated. Dromedaries, like Bactrians, have very long, calloused legs, but are more slender in build. Compared to two-humped camels, one-humped camels are much smaller: the body length of adult individuals is 2.3-3.4 m, and the height at the withers reaches 1.8-2.1 m. The weight of a one-humped camel ranges from 300 to 700 kg.

The head of a dromedary has elongated facial bones, a convex forehead, a hook-nosed profile, and the lips are not compressed like those of cattle. The cheeks are enlarged, the lower lip is often drooping. The neck of the dromedary camel has developed muscles. A small mane grows along the upper edge of the neck, and at the bottom there is a short beard that reaches the middle of the neck. The forearms have no edges. In the area of the shoulder blade there is an edge in the form of “epaulettes”, which consists of long curled hair and is absent in Bactrian camels.

Also, the one-humped camel differs from the two-humped camel in that the first does not tolerate frost at all, while the second is adapted to existence in extreme conditions. low temperatures. The coat of dromedaries is dense, but not particularly thick and long; such fur does not warm, but only prevents intense loss of fluid. On cold nights, the body temperature of a dromedary camel drops significantly; in the sun, the body warms up extremely slowly, and the camel sweats only when the temperature exceeds 40 degrees. Most long hair grow on the animal's neck, back and head. The color of dromedaries is predominantly sandy, but there are dromedary camels that are dark brown, reddish-gray or white.

This is the largest representative of the genus and the most valuable pet for most Asian peoples. The Bactrian camel got its name from Bactria, a region in Central Asia, where it was domesticated. Small quantity wild Bactrian camels, called haptagai, have survived to this day: several hundred individuals live in China and Mongolia, preferring the most inaccessible landscapes.

Bactrian camel- a very large and heavy animal: body length reaches 2.5-3.6 m, and the average height of adult individuals is 1.8-2.3 meters. The height of animals, including humps, can reach up to 2.7 m. The length of the tail is 50-58 cm. Typically, a mature camel weighs from 450 to 700 kg. Male camels of the valuable Kalmyk breed, fattened over the summer, can weigh from 800 kg to 1 ton, the weight of females ranges from 650 to 800 kg.

The Bactrian camel has a dense body and long limbs. Bactrians are distinguished by a particularly long, curved neck, which first bends down and then rises again, so the animal's head is in line with its shoulders. The humps of a camel are located at a distance of 20-40 cm from each other (meaning the distance between the bases of the humps), forming a saddle between them - a place where a person can sit. The distance from the saddle to the ground is about 170 cm, so before climbing onto the camel's back, the rider must order the animal to kneel or lie down on the ground. The space between the humps is not filled with fat even in the most well-fed individuals.

An indicator of the health and fatness of a Bactrian camel is its elastic, evenly standing humps. In emaciated animals, the humps completely or partially fall to the side and dangle while walking. The Bactrian camel has an extremely thick and dense coat with developed undercoat, ideal for living in harsh conditions. continental climate with its sultry summers and cold, snowy winters. It is noteworthy that in the usual biotopes of Bactrians in winter the thermometer drops below -40 degrees, but the animals tolerate such frost painlessly.

The structure of the fur of a Bactrian camel is very unique: the hairs inside are hollow, which significantly reduces the thermal conductivity of the coat, and each hair is surrounded by thin hairs of undercoat, between which air accumulates and is retained well, also reducing heat loss. The length of the Bactrian's coat is 5-7 cm, but on the lower part of the neck and the tops of the humps the hair length exceeds 25 cm. The longest hair grows on these camels in the fall, and in the winter the Bactrians look the most pubescent. With the onset of spring, Bactrian camels molt: the hair begins to fall out in clumps and then the Bactrians look especially unkempt and shabby, but by summer the short coat takes on a normal appearance.

The usual color of the Bactrian camel is brown-sand of varying intensity, sometimes very dark, reddish or very light. Among domestic Bactrian camels, the most common individuals are brown, but gray, white and almost black specimens are also found. Light-colored camels are the rarest and make up only 2.8% of the total population.

What is the difference between domestic and wild Bactrian camels?

There are some differences between domestic and wild Bactrian camels:

Wild camels (khaptagai) are slightly smaller in size than domestic camels and are not as dense, but rather lean; their footprints are thinner and more elongated;
The Khaptagai have much more narrow muzzle, the ears are shorter, their pointed humps are not as large and voluminous as those of their domestic relatives;
The body of khaptagai is covered with reddish-brown-sandy fur. In domestic animals, the coat may be light, sandy yellow or dark brown;
The wild camel haptagai runs much faster than the domestic one;
But the main difference between a domestic camel and a wild one is that khaptagai have completely no calloused formations on the chest and knees of the front legs.

Camel hybrids, photos and names.

Since ancient times, the population of countries such as Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan practiced interspecific hybridization of camels, that is, they crossed one-humped and two-humped camels. Hybrids have great value V national economy these countries. Below is a description of the hybrids:

Nar– a hybrid of first generation camels, crossed using the Kazakh method. When crossing female Kazakh Bactrian camels with male Turkmen dromedary camels The Arvana breed produces a viable cross. Hybrid females are called nar-maya (or nar-maya), males are called nar. In appearance, the bunk looks like a dromedary and has one elongated hump, which consists of 2 humps fused together. The offspring always exceeds the parents in size: the height at the shoulders of an adult bunk is from 1.8 to 2.3 m, and the weight can exceed 1 ton. The annual milk yield of a female Nara with a fat content of up to 5.14% can exceed 2000 liters, while for dromedaries the average milk yield is 1300-1400 liters per year, and for Bactrians no more than 800 liters per year. Nars, in turn, are capable of producing offspring, which is rare among hybrid specimens, but their young are usually weak and sickly.

Iner (iner)- This is also a hybrid of first-generation camels obtained by the Turkmen method, namely: by crossing a female Turkmen one-humped camel of the Arvana breed with a male Bactrian camel. The hybrid female is called iner-maya (or iner-maya), the male is called iner. The iner, like the bunk, has one elongated hump, is distinguished by high rates of milk yield and wool clipping, and also has a powerful physique.

Zharbay, or jarby– a rare second-generation hybrid obtained by crossing first-generation camel hybrids. Experienced camel breeders try to avoid such reproduction, since the offspring are low productive, sickly, often with obvious deformities and signs of degeneration in the form of severely deformed joints of the limbs, a curved chest, and so on.

Kospak– a camel hybrid obtained by crossing the absorption type of Nar-May females with a male Bactrian camel. Quite a promising hybrid in terms of increased meat mass and high milk productivity. It is also recommended for breeding for further crossing in order to increase the small population of another camel hybrid, kez-nar.

Kez-nar- a group of hybrid camels, which are the result of crossing Cospak females with dromedary males of the Turkmen breed. As a result, individuals appear that exceed the cospaks in weight, and are ahead of the nar-may in height at the withers, milk production and wool clipping.

Kurt- a group of hybrid camels obtained by crossing the iner-may with males of the Turkmen dromedary. Kurt is a one-humped hybrid; the animal's forearms are slightly pubescent. Milk productivity is quite high, although the fat content of the milk is low, and the kurt is not a record holder in terms of the amount of wool sheared.

Kurt-nar- hybrid camels bred by crossing Kurt hybrid females and Bactrian males of the Kazakh breed.

- a hybrid of a dromedary camel and a llama. The resulting hybrid has no hump, the animal's fur is fluffy, very soft, up to 6 cm long. The kama's limbs are long, very strong, with double hooves, so the hybrid can be used as a hardy pack animal, capable of carrying loads weighing up to 30 kg. Kama has rather small ears and long tail. Height at the withers varies from 125 to 140 cm, and weight from 50 to 70 kg.

These unusual animals are not like others. Many peoples cannot imagine life without the majestic and strong camels, domesticated many centuries ago. In some countries, the wealth of families is determined by the number of camel herds. For a very long time in the East, camel pack was the standard measure of weight. And old Arabic tales, in which the “ship of the desert” appears in one way or another, are spread all over the world.

The owners of these animals claim that camels are smart and understand humans very well, but each of them has its own character. And some are just terribly stubborn!

Many of us have known since school that there are different types of camels, similar to each other, but also different in some ways. What are they common features and what are the differences?

General characteristics of the family

Of course, the main distinctive feature is the presence of a hump. By the way, it is by this feature that you can easily understand what species a camel belongs to. The camelid family includes several genera that are not camels, but are very closely related to them. All of these animals are mammals. The family belongs to the suborder Callopods. The peculiar structure of the legs is one of the main characteristics of the family. All camelids do not have (functional) hooves, and the lower surface of the foot is a calloused pad. In some genera it is paired, in others it is not.

Another characteristic feature- long neck. But the most unusual, perhaps, is another feature of camelids, which is not visible to the naked eye. All members of the family have oval red blood cells, rather than round ones, like almost all other animals (and humans).

It is noteworthy that the vast majority of members of the family are excellent swimmers. IN natural environment In the habitat of camels, as a rule, there is a shortage of water; many of them have never seen lakes and rivers in their lives, so the mechanism of this phenomenon is not completely clear.

Prehistoric Alticamelus

These animals, of which today only fragments of skeletons remain, scattered throughout to the globe, were one of the most numerous representatives of " mammoth fauna" The genus included similar species of camels, the names of which were given either by the names of the researchers (for example, Knobloch's camel) or by their habitat (Alexandrian camel).

In total, modern scientists identify up to ten species of extinct camels. All of them were larger than modern ones, had very long necks, in appearance they were somewhat reminiscent of giraffes (but the resemblance is exclusively convergent). Alticamelus were common in the Cenozoic.

Bactrian with two humps

Camel species differ not only in the number of humps, but also in body size. The presence of two humps is the main feature by which you can easily determine that this is a Bactrian, but the height and weight of the animal are also important. larger and heavier than its one-humped relative and all other members of the family included in other genera.

This species tolerates heat well, but it is not afraid of moderate frosts. But high humidity is destructive for Bactrian. It is found in Central and Central Asia, in Mongolia and the neighboring regions of China and Russia. People have bred many breeds of Bactrian, which are widely used in the economy as draft power or Camel meat and milk are very valuable, due to which they occupy an important place in national cuisines many peoples. The thick fur of the Bactrian is of considerable interest. Large quantity Camels of this species are kept in circuses and zoos.

Khaptagay

Most sources name only such types of camels as one-humped and two-humped. But some scientists are inclined to classify haptagai as a separate species. The version is supported by the results of genetic studies and obvious external differences. Moreover, even the belief that Bactrian descended from the wild haptagai is questioned. Outwardly they are similar. But wild camel smaller than representatives of domestic meat breeds.

The subspecies was first described famous explorer Przhevalsky. At the time of the scientist, the population of wild Bactrian camels was much larger than it is now. Currently, there are only a few hundred haptagai.

All kinds of studies of these animals make it possible to better study them and determine measures that will help maintain the number of livestock. In addition, scientists are trying to establish between Bactrians. Perhaps these are still different types of camels, but at present official science does not recognize this.

Dromedar - ship of the desert

The one-humped camel is common in the Middle East and North Africa, in Asia Minor. He is also unusually hardy, unpretentious, and strong. Man domesticated the wild dromedary camel several thousand years ago, and since then the dromedary has been an integral part of the world order of several nations. Like its two-humped brother, it is of great value on the farm.

Dromedaries are not found in nature. The ancestors of this animal, which did not lend themselves to domestication, became extinct at the dawn of our era. There is information about wild dromedaries, but these are not autochthons, but wild animals that once lived with humans. And such cases are rare. There is no talk of identifying dromedaries that are lost or have run away from home as a separate species.

By comparing the types of camels, photos of which are presented in this article, you can easily identify a dromedary by the presence of a luxurious hump.

Other members of the family

Camels, llamas and vicuñas are the three genera that make up the camelid family. The types of genera are few. The genus of llamas, for example, has only two: the llamas themselves (domestic) and the wild form of the guanaco. The genus vicuña includes one species - vicuñas, very similar to guanacos, but even smaller in size.

Some researchers call the llama and vicuña genera New World camels. They are much smaller than dromedaries and bactrians and do not even have a hint of a hump.

Who is this Nar?

This unusual word unites a huge variety of hybrids of dromedary and bactrian. Received individuals from parents different types, like many other hybrids, are distinguished by excellent health, physical strength and endurance even greater than those of their parents. Nars are capable of producing viable offspring, but the third generation usually produces weak individuals that are of no value to breeders. Nars are crossed with both Bactrians and Dromedars, obtaining good results. Often a hybrid camel calf is born large, grows quickly, and in adulthood is even larger in size than its camel parent.

What types of hybrid camels breeders obtain depends on the purpose. With the help of crossing, they usually try to highlight some characteristic: length and quality of wool, specific amount meat, endurance. There are a huge number of camel breeding schemes. Kospak, zhabray, iner, kuz, kez-nar - this is far from full list. However, hybrid individuals are not distinguished into separate species or even breeds.

IN wildlife a similar phenomenon does not occur for the reason that the two-humped and one-humped camels have different habitats. It is noteworthy that the bunks always have one hump, but it is formed from two fused ones.

Camels are smart, strong and very hardy animals. Their body is perfectly adapted to life in dry steppes and waterless deserts. The long, thick coat helps to escape the scorching sun during the day and to keep warm at night.

Due to the structural features of the stomach, a camel can quite for a long time do without water. But after a long water-free diet, he is able to drink up to 120 liters of liquid. Moreover, this may be bitter-salty water, which is often found in deserts and steppes and is unsuitable for other species of animals.

Appearance of a camel

The animal's eyes are protected from contact with fine particles sand with long thick eyelashes arranged in two rows. The camel's nostrils also have thick hair that prevents dust and sand from getting inside. And during a strong sandstorm a camel can completely close its nostrils.

The animal's two-toed feet are covered with calloused pads, which allows it to feel comfortable when moving on hot, loose sand and sharp stones. In addition, there are calluses on the camel’s knees and chest; they protect it from pain when lowered to the ground.

Up to 120 kg of fat can accumulate in the humps located on the animal’s back, which helps it long time go without food and water. But, if a camel can live quietly without food for about a month, then without water it can live for about two weeks.

Stages of development

A pregnant female camel carries a baby for 13–14 months. He is born weighing up to 14 kg, sighted, and within a couple of hours after birth, he begins to walk. At the age of two months, the baby camel begins to eat plant foods on its own, but despite this, it feeds on its mother’s milk more than a year. At the age of five, a camel reaches sexual maturity.

Types of camels

In nature, there are two types of camels: dromedary (one-humped) and bactrian (two-humped). However, their difference is not only in the number of humps.

The dromedary has a slimmer build. Its height at the withers reaches 230 cm with an average weight of 500-800 kg. The body of the dromedary is covered with short hair of a brown-sand color, but there are other types of coat colors (red, light or dark).

As for the two-humped camel (Bactrian), it distinctive feature is a more massive body structure. Its height at the withers reaches 250 cm, with a body length of up to 270 cm and a weight of up to 800 kg. The Bactrian's coat is thick and long, predominantly light yellow in color.

Benefits for humans

Currently, camels are considered domestic animals and are increasingly rare in the wild. They are very valuable for humans, as they provide milk, wool, leather and meat. However, the main advantage of camels is their ability to walk long distances across the shifting desert sands with heavy bales on their backs. They are capable of covering 30–40 km daily, while carrying bales weighing 250–300 kg.

Brief information about the camel.

Every person knows that a camel is a “ship of the desert.” No one has yet been able to replace this beautiful animal in the vast sandy expanses. The main attribute of a camel is, of course, its hump. Many people mistakenly assume that the camel carries water in it; this is not true. In fact, fat accumulates in the humps (up to 190 kg), which the camel uses if necessary. A camel can exist without water and food for a long time and feel great, but at the same time it loses weight up to 40% of its body.

There are two types of camels: Bactrian (Bactrians) and one-humped (dromedaries). Dromedaries live in Africa, Asia, Arabia, India, and Turkmenistan. They are used for transport in the desert and as a source of meat, wool and milk. Bactrians live in China, Mongolia, Kalmykia, and Kazakhstan. These camels are also used in households.

Camels live about 30-40 years and they live in harems, which makes it much easier to care for their offspring. When it comes to females, these cute animals become very aggressive. But not all camels live in harems; sometimes you can also find solitary camels.

Camels mainly live in deserts, and the question immediately comes to mind: what do camels eat? These animals feed on plants. Moreover, the camel’s body is designed in such a way that this animal can use it as food. thorny plants(for example, camel thorn), inedible for other animals, and even mimosa branches, the needles of which can easily pierce the sole of a boot. Camels can also drink bitterly salty water.

If you cross a Bactrian and a Dromedary, the resulting hybrids are called Nars. Such offspring are stronger and more resilient than their parents.

Perhaps not the best, but still a video about camels.

Bactrians:

The camel is a very unusual animal. He looks very strange and lives where other animals cannot stand for even an hour. That is why children, and many adults, have a lot of questions when they see a camel:

Why does a camel have 2 humps?
Why is a camel a ship of the desert?
Why did the camel's hump fall off or why does the camel's hump not always stand up?
Why do camels spit at people?
Why are camels called the desert caravan?
Why doesn't a camel eat cotton wool?
Why is the symbol of Chelyabinsk a camel?
Is there a fairy tale about why a camel has a hump?
Why is the camel called the ship of the desert?

These questions cannot even be answered briefly. But you can still try.

Everyone knows that camels live in deserts. This is the only large animal capable of living in places where there is practically no water or grass. But camels eat only plant foods. How was this animal able to adapt to such difficult conditions and why does the camel live in the desert?

The answer to this question is on the camel's back - in its humps. Of course, he does not carry water inside one hump and food inside the other. These are fairy tales for very young children.

In fact, before going to long journey In the hot desert, the camel eats and drinks a lot. Part nutrients and is deposited in the humps. A well-fed camel's humps become large and rounded. In a well-fed animal, one hump can weigh more than 50 kg.

Why do camels have humps?

The fact is that the animal uses up reserves of them while traveling through hot and desert areas. If the path is very long, then by the end of it the camel's humps may be completely exhausted and droop. It is at such moments that they fall over on their side, resembling empty sacks. But there is no answer to the question, why can a camel go without water for a long time?

With water everything is much more complicated, but also more interesting. It accumulates not in the humps, but in the camel’s stomach, or rather in special folds located in the stomach. Thanks to this, the animal can walk for a long time under the hot rays of the sun without feeling thirsty at all.

And a little more about food. Even in the hottest desert, at least occasionally you come across some plants. These are mainly very hard and thorny bushes. Almost no one can eat them except camels.

Why does a camel eat thorns?

It turns out that the lips of these animals are so hard that the sharp spines do not cause them any harm. And the teeth and jaws are so powerful that they can easily grind the tough branches of desert plants. Although thorns are, of course, not the most favorite delicacy of camels. He will eat juicy grass with great pleasure. But if there is no other food, then you can get by with a hard thorn. This is why camels eat cacti.

So a camel in the desert is rarely left completely without food. Unless the drivers, or caravan drivers as they are called, decide to pave the way through the driest and hottest places.

How do camels live?

In general, camels are incredibly resilient and can carry huge loads on their backs. It is said that an adult can carry on its back a weight equal to half its own body weight without much effort. And this is a lot. On average, a camel weighs almost half a ton (500 kg), and large specimens weigh more than 700 kg. Such strong camels can carry up to 400 kg of load.

At the same time, these animals move very quickly. Even with a load, a camel can reach speeds of up to 25 km/h. This is 5 times faster than the speed of a walking person. If only the rider sits on the camel, then the speed can be even higher - 40 km/h. On short distances a camel can run even faster – up to 65 km/h. By the way, in some countries the sport of camel racing is still preserved.

It was the endurance, strength and speed of camels that forced people in ancient times to tame these animals in order to use them in their economic activity. This is why the camel became a pet. And the camels themselves, most likely, were not against serving humans.

Why does a camel spit?

These animals do not experience any aggression towards people. And their attitude towards children cannot be called anything other than love. The kids also love these wonderful animals and constantly spin around next to them, trying to climb on their backs and ride.

But you still shouldn’t pester the camels too much. These large animals are very touchy, and they can take “revenge” in the most unexpected way. When offended or very frightened, the camel spits. At the same time, he tries to get into the eyes of his offender. Camel saliva is very thick and smells unpleasant. So it’s better not to offend these desert giants.

Here is the answer to the question “ Why does a camel spit?" Although it's not the only reason. Two camels may spit at each other when courting a female. In this way they show which of them is stronger.

Camels

Camel cubs are not born so small. They weigh approximately 35 kg, and their height sometimes reaches 90 cm. Camel cubs are no less hardy than their parents. Within 2 hours the baby can run after his mother. By the way, camels feed their children milk. This is why the camel is classified as a mammal.

Camels live in hot countries where deserts and semi-deserts predominate. But this strange animal is loved all over the world. In many fairy tales and poems you can find such a funny character as a baby camel.

Camel in fairy tales and legends

The storytellers did not forget about adult animals. There is even a story about why a camel has a hump. Kipling, the writer who came up with the fairy tale about Mowgli, suggested that a long time ago, when man first tamed animals, they all worked constantly. And only the camel, which did not yet have a hump, did not want to work. A horse, a dog, and an ox asked him to help. The camel didn’t want to help them, he just snorted “Grrb.” Jin, the lord of the desert, found out about this and came to the lazy man. But the camel didn’t listen to him either. So Jin punished him by making him hunchbacked. This is how Rudyard Kipling answered the question “Why does a camel have a hump?” It's just summary book "Why does a camel have a hump". It’s better, of course, to go to the library and ask for Kipling’s book, Why the Camel Has a Hump. It's much more interesting to read.

There is another legend. It tells why a camel has two humps. By the way, it also talks about why a camel spits. It was like this. Once upon a time, all the animals lived in harmony, and only the camel did not want to know anyone. He just walked around and spat, offending everyone around him. And one day, with his spitting, he angered the hippopotamus so much that he hit the offender.

The back bent in the middle, and there were humps along the edges. Since then, the camel stopped offending everyone, but remained humpbacked.

Of course, these are fairy tales. In fact, camels are very hardworking and friendly. And the distant ancestors of camels, Alticamelus, already had hump-like growths. They lived a very, very long time ago in North America, and then moved to Eurasia. It was then that they adapted to living in quite harsh conditions, having grown a real hump, and some even two.

Camel on the coat of arms

So camels are not lazy creatures, but quite the opposite – incredibly hardworking creatures. People appreciated this quality by placing the image of a camel on the coats of arms of countries and cities. It is even in Russian symbols. This animal, for example, adorns the coat of arms of Chelyabinsk. Why camel? After all, they don’t live there at all.

It's simple. In the old days, Chelyabinsk was a center of trade with Asian countries. It was there that numerous caravans came. Thanks to this, the city actively developed. And the townspeople decided to place a camel on the coat of arms as a sign of respect for this hardy and hardworking helper of man. That is why the coat of arms of Chelyabinsk depicts a camel. When the city became the center of the entire region, it was time to come up with a coat of arms Chelyabinsk region. “Why can’t a camel be depicted here too?” – the residents thought and kept their favorite animal on this symbol too.

Where does a camel live in the world?

Well, camels still live in hot countries. Their main habitats are northern Africa, Arabian states, countries Central Asia, as well as Mongolia and western part China. True, here we are talking about domesticated animals. But there are not many wild camels left in nature. And they are found mainly in Mongolia.

Wild camels are much smaller than their well-fed domestic counterparts. They can be distinguished by their pointed humps. By the way, about humps. Not all camels have two. There are also animals with one hump. And this is not because they are sick. The dromedary camel is one of the varieties of this animal species. They even have their own name - dromedaries. Bactrian camels They are called Bactrians. True, scientists have not yet been able to answer the question of why a camel has two humps.

Why was the camel called a camel?

Why was the camel called a camel? After all, they are not bred in our country. In other countries, these animals are called completely differently.
The answer to this question can be found in ancient chronicles. It turns out that even in ancient times, more than 1000 years ago, camel caravans with various overseas goods came to distant northern cities. Our Slavic ancestors were so amazed by these animals that they gave them the name “vel bludy”, that is, “walking for a long time”. Gradually the word changed and turned into the familiar “camels” to our ears.

In general, in Arabian countries they love camels and call them by different beautiful names.

Why is a camel called the ship of the desert?

After all, there is no water in deserts and ships have no business doing that. Yes, because the sandy mountains - dunes, are very reminiscent of frozen sea waves. So camel-ships have been plying this sandy sea for many hundreds of years.