Wild animal camel. Types and breeds of camels

One of the amazing animals on our earth is the camel. He is curious not only about his appearance, but also a way of life. Therefore, many are interested in finding out the name of the Bactrian camel and fun facts associated with it.

What is it called

First, you should know that this animal can be domestic or wild. Homeland Bactrian camels Mongolia is considered. There this wild animal is known as "haptagai". Home bactrian camel called "Bactrian". The animal received this name in honor of the ancient region of Baktiria, which was located in This species is the largest of the camelid family.

Species distribution

Many people do not know the name of the Bactrian camel, but this is not surprising, since in our area you can only meet this exotic animal in a zoo. But in Central Asia and Mongolia it is a common pet. It is also bred in some in China. Worldwide, the number of Bactrians exceeds two million. But the wild representative of this family is very much in danger of extinction. According to some reports, the haptagai ranks eighth on the list of endangered mammals. In total, their number varies within about several hundred heads. Mostly haptagai can be found in some parts of Mongolia and China.

Relationship with a person

The Bactrian camel (name - Bactrian) plays a huge role in the life of Asian people. For the population that lives in desert districts, this animal is a necessary means of transportation. They also shear camels to make woolen items such as rugs, blankets, felt boots, capes, clothes and more. But the skin, meat and milk of the animal are also used. In addition, the dung of the Bactrian camel is also valuable, since it produces good fuel.

Appearance

This animal is so unusual that it cannot be confused with other mammals. The Bactrian or Bactrian camel, the photo of which is shown below, is quite large and weighs on average 500 kilograms. But heavier individuals are often found. If you measure the animal by the withers, it will exceed two meters, and if you take the height along with the humps, it can reach 2.7 m.

The animal has a long bent neck and lanky legs. Instead of hooves there is a cloven foot and wide calloused pads. In addition, on each leg there are processes that resemble a claw.

Also, the Bactrian camel, whose name is Bactrian, can have a different color from almost white until brown. The wool is quite thick and long, and is hollow inside to provide poor thermal conductivity. They also have an undercoat. Camels molt in summer, changing their coats. The old fur falls out quickly, and the animal can remain “naked” for a couple of weeks until a new coat grows.

animal hump

The humps are of greatest interest. They can be various shapes, which often depends on the condition of the camel. For example, if an animal is hungry, the humps may hang down; in an animal that has eaten, they are restored and rise again. This is explained by the fact that these “bags” contain fat (a total of about 150 kg), which is the body’s nutrition reserve. These growths also serve as thermal insulators for the animal. In addition, the Bactrian Bactrian camel is a convenient transport, since the distance between its “bags” is approximately 30 centimeters, this is enough for an adult to fit there.

Features of camels

This animal has special physiological characteristics that allow it to survive in unfavorable conditions. For example, a camel can suffer severe dehydration, while other animals die in such circumstances. With a strong loss of moisture in the body, this mammal noticeably loses weight, but when it has the opportunity to drink, its weight is restored almost immediately. In addition, the camel is able to accumulate and retain liquid until a certain point.

Lifestyle

This animal is diurnal and prefers to rest at night. Their main enemies are wolves and tigers. The Bactrian camel (name - Bactrian) lives according to the “schedule” set by the owner of the animal. But wild individuals keep in herds of up to 20 heads and obey the dominant male. Basically, in this family there are only females and young animals.

Rutting period

At the age of two, females are ready to have offspring. Male camels become sexually mature by age five. In autumn the rutting season begins. Often at this time, owners put males on a leash, since they become dangerous to surrounding animals and humans. They attack their opponents, rush about, roar and foam. If the male is dominant, he keeps the females in one place, not allowing them to disperse. Camels often engage in fights during this period. Even calm animals mating season become ferocious. They use their powerful neck, trying to pin the opponent to the ground, use their fangs, grabbing the legs and throat, and kick the enemy. In this case, if the owner does not disperse the camels, serious injuries and even fatal outcome for a weak male.

During the rutting period, haptagai can become dangerous to their domestic counterparts. They are able to break into the pen, kill the males and take away the females. Therefore, these days, shepherds take their animals to the mountains away from danger.

After mating, the female bears the offspring for 13 months. Only one baby camel is born, which weighs no more than 45 kilos. Within two hours after birth, the baby is able to follow his mother independently. Lactation is long, about a year and a half. But a baby camel can chew already in the third month. The female is capable of giving birth once in two years. At the age of 4 years, male camels gather in groups, and over time, each of them organizes his own “harem”.

Amazing details

One of the most unusual mammals, of course, is the Bactrian camel. Interesting Facts about this animal are no less fascinating:

One individual is capable of drinking 200 liters of water at a time.
If the animal decides to rest or sleep, it cannot be forced to get up. It will only get up when it wants to.
These herbivores can eat hard thorns without scratching their lips and mouth.
The camel's nostrils are able to close when necessary (for example, to keep moisture out or during sandstorms to prevent sand from getting inside).
If a hurricane begins in its territory of residence, the camel can remain in a lying, motionless state for several days.
Each leg of the animal is capable of kicking in four directions.
They can do without water if they eat green plants (camels get moisture from them).
One of the defensive abilities is spitting. If you provoke a camel, it will draw an unpleasant mixture from its stomach, which it will “reward” the enemy with.
The fur of this animal has the ability to reflect rays, which allows it not to overheat while moving through the desert.
The name of the Bactrian camel “haptagai” appeared thanks to the local residents.
Camel excrement is very dry, so it is used for heating. They give an even, almost smokeless warm flame.
They have an excellent memory, which helps them not to get lost among the many dunes.
Camels have keen eyesight. The animal sees movement in the desert a kilometer away.
The camel's sense of smell allows it to survive, as it can smell water sixty kilometers away.
IN bad weather the animal tries to hide. If it is too hot outside, camels begin to walk against the wind, opening their mouths, to cool down a little and avoid overheating. They also use their tail for fanning.
Although special vehicles and navigators have been invented for moving through the desert, the most reliable assistant is still the Bactrian camel, whose name is Bactrian.
People use the fat that is in the “bags” of the animal for food. It is suitable for frying and is valued higher than beef.
Camels do not tolerate dampness very well.
They are very susceptible to disease.
A wild camel can even be content with salt water; a domestic camel is not adapted to this.
They can live up to 50 years.

Camels are similar in build to ungulates, which is why they are often mistakenly considered artiodactyls. But there are so many unique features in the structure of camels that they are distinguished in special squad Calloused. And quite reasonably, because they just don’t have hooves. Thus, the only relatives of camels are guanacos and vicunas. There are two known species of camels in the world - the two-humped (Bactrian) and the one-humped (dromedar), and only domesticated individuals are known of the latter species, therefore in wildlife it is considered extinct.

Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus).

Camels are large animals, both species reach 2.5-3.6 m in height, a one-humped camel weighs 300-700 kg, a two-humped camel weighs 500-800 kg. Main external difference camels have humps of adipose tissue on their backs. But they also have other features: their cervical arch bends down, and when walking, camels rely not on the end of the toe (hoof), but on the last few phalanges of the toes, which form a calloused pad. At the end of this pillow there is a small claw that does not perform any supporting function. A camel has a total of two supporting toes, so their foot pads are forked and resemble the limbs of artiodactyls. Their structure also brings them closer to the latter. digestive system, camels have a complex multi-chambered stomach, allowing them to digest the coarsest food as efficiently as possible.

The soft and wide feet of a camel allow it to walk on the sand without falling through.

At the same time, camels have a lot of unique features associated with special living conditions. Since camels live in deserts, everything in their body is aimed at combating overheating and maintaining moisture. The first barrier against heat and dehydration is wool. In a one-humped camel it is short and only slightly longer at the top of the hump and on the top of the head; in a two-humped camel the summer coat is of medium length, and the winter coat is very long (especially on the belly and underside of the neck). But regardless of the type and season, camel hair is always very thick and creates a dense, impenetrable layer around the body, insulating the skin from air.

Long hair protects camels from both heat and cold, because in deserts the difference between day and night temperatures is large, so protection from hypothermia at night (for the Bactrian camel and in winter) is no less important than protection from overheating.

Dealing with cold and heat at the same time is not easy, so camels have another unique adaptation - wide limits of permissible body temperature. If all mammals have a constant body temperature and a deviation of even one degree activates the mechanism of thermoregulation (sweating), then camels painlessly tolerate an increase in body temperature up to 40°, as well as a decrease to 35°. Camels begin to sweat only when their body temperature rises above 40°, which means they save valuable moisture on sweating. In addition, lowering body temperature by a couple of degrees at night allows camels to “stock up on coolness” for the coming day.

The next barrier to dehydration of the body is the nostrils; in camels they are slit-like and close tightly; a special fold in the nasal cavity plays the role of a condenser of water vapor, which flows into the oral cavity, so moisture does not leave the body. Under the same conditions, a camel loses 3 times less fluid than a donkey. In addition, narrow nostrils allow the camel to breathe during sandstorms, when myriads of grains of sand are floating in the air. For the same purposes, camels have very thick and long eyelashes that protect their eyes. Along with the nostrils, the camel's kidneys, which produce very concentrated urine, and the intestines, which produce almost dehydrated manure, work to conserve water in the camel's body.

The camel's nostrils are narrow, and its lips are soft and forked.

When all the ways for moisture loss are blocked, the problem of its accumulation arises. But for a camel this is not a problem. These animals are able to drink a huge volume of water in a short time (130-150 liters in 10 minutes), storing it in the stomach. Nutrients are stored in the form of fat reserves in the humps, which, in the event of a lack of food and water, begin to be consumed. When fat is broken down, water is formed as a by-product, but in the case of a camel, this product is not a by-product, but the main one. And although fat breakdown is not main reason"drought resistance" of these animals, but it undoubtedly helps the camel survive for a record long time without water. The ability of camels to do without a watering place is phenomenal: a Bactrian camel can easily tolerate 3-5 days of “abstinence” in the heat, a Bactrian camel can easily endure 5 days with high physical activity and 10 at rest. The secret of such endurance is in the properties of camel blood. Their oval red blood cells retain water in the vascular bed much longer than the red blood cells of other animals, and do not stick together even when the body loses 25% of fluid! Other animals can safely lose only 15% of their body's water reserves. The low mobility of these animals also indirectly contributes to the preservation of moisture; camels are slow and calm, they lead a measured lifestyle and adhere to a constant daily routine.

The condition of a camel can be judged by the size of its humps: a well-fed animal has full humps, while in starving individuals they are not filled with fat and hang down.

Wild Bactrian camels previously lived throughout the Central and East Asia, now they are preserved only in the Gobi Desert (Mongolia and China). But domestic Bactrian camels are still found in China, Mongolia, Pakistan, India, Kazakhstan, Iran, Turkmenistan, and also in Kalmykia. In the 19th century, these camels were actively used to transport goods in Siberia, because accustomed to the harsh continental climate, they are not afraid of frost. Dromedary camels are native to North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. They are still found in these areas, and also penetrate west to Pakistan and India inclusive. Unlike Bactrians, dromedaries are thermophilic, cannot tolerate frost at all, and do not penetrate further north than Turkmenistan.

Wild camels live in deserts and semi-deserts overgrown with saltworts, thorny bushes and low-growing trees (saxauls). They lead a sedentary lifestyle, but within their territories they make long daily marches. The word “camel” itself, translated from Old Slavonic, means “wandering a lot”, “walking a lot”. Usually camels graze in the morning and evening; during the day they try to lie down on the slopes of the dunes, chewing cud; here on open spaces they sleep at night. The usual pace of movement of these animals is a step at a speed of 10 km/hour. They have very sharp eyesight and can see a person a kilometer away; in case of danger, camels try to leave in advance, avoiding getting close to the enemy. If this fails, then they switch to ambling and run at speeds of up to 25-30 km/h; in extreme cases, camels run at an awkward gallop, but not for long.

Camels sleep lying down, while they bend their legs and stretch their necks or fall on their sides.

Camels live family groups 5-10 individuals each; in the old days, herds of wild Bactrians numbered up to 30 animals. In the herd, the leading role is played by the male leader; he leads several adult females and their offspring. Seasoned males can live alone. A calm and calm atmosphere reigns in the herd; the camels, as if saving energy, avoid both friendly games, and conflicts with each other. The camel's voice is a hoarse roar ( listen ).

These animals feed on desert vegetation; they are extremely unpretentious and eat everything that grows on the root - bitter and salty herbs, dry and thorny branches. The camel's lips are forked and very mobile, and these animals chew little, this allows the camel to eat without difficulty thorny plants. It’s not for nothing that desert shrubs are nicknamed “camel thorn.” Contrary to their ascetic lifestyle, camels drink a lot and willingly, using any open body of water for this. In general, the relationship of camels to water is contradictory. On the one hand, many camels (according to observations in captivity) are excellent at... swimming, although they have never seen deep and wide bodies of water in their lives! On the other hand, individual individuals clearly do not understand what needs to be done with such an amount of water; there are cases when domestic camels drowned while crossing canals, trying... to cross them along the bottom. In general, camels do not like dampness; they tolerate a humid climate extremely poorly.

Unlike many desert animals, camels are not afraid of water and drink a lot for a long time.

The rut of camels occurs in December-January (among dromedaries) or in January-February (among Bactrians). Males protect their herds from attacks by single bachelors. Having seen a rival, the camel runs from afar to cross him, roars and in every possible way depicts his readiness to protect the females. If an opponent approaches, the owner of the harem fires a “warning shot” - the famous camel spitting. Thus, spitting is a defensive, demonstrative reaction. In captivity, camels can also spit on potential aggressors and strangers - annoying tourists and zoo visitors who, in the camel's opinion, have come too close and encroached on its territory.

Spitting with the tongue sticking out is considered especially effective. According to the camel, this should scare the enemy even more.

If spitting does not help, then the rival males engage in close combat. They collide with their chests, fight with their necks and try to drive away the opponent with force and bites. The defeated man flees.

A camel's pregnancy lasts 365-440 days and the female feeds the baby camel with milk for almost another year, so females give birth no more than once every 2 years. The camel gives birth while standing, and after a couple of hours the newborn can follow the mother. One two-humped camel produces 4-5 liters of milk per day; in one-humped females the milk yield is even higher - up to 8-10 liters of milk per day (this may be due to the altered genetics of domestic dromedaries). Camel milk is thick and nutritious; camel cubs grow quickly, but remain attached to their mother almost until adulthood. Young camels reach sexual maturity at 3 years of age, but males can participate in breeding no earlier than 5 years of age. Camels live quite a long time - 40-50 years.

Two males take part in traditional camel fights held in Turkey.

In nature, camels have almost no enemies, since in barren deserts there are no large animals at all. Nevertheless, wolves can be dangerous for the cubs of two-humped camels; in the old days, one-humped camels were threatened by Barbary lions, and two-humped camels were threatened by Transcaucasian tigers (now these predators have been exterminated). Their main enemy was and remains man. The complete disappearance of one-humped camels in nature and the catastrophic decline in the number of two-humped camels can be explained by hunting and mass harvesting for domestication in ancient times, as well as the destruction of natural habitats in modern times. Now there are about 1,000 wild Bactrian camels left in the world, which are protected in reserves in Mongolia and China. They are listed in the Red Book.

A female dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius) with a rare black camel calf.

The role of the camel in human life looks ambiguous. For a European, a camel is more likely to cause a smile or disdain, because this animal cannot boast of grace, beauty, or speed, and the habit of spitting negatively affects its image. The people who breed them have a diametrically opposite attitude towards camels. Here camels are held in higher esteem than any other domestic animal. By the way, they were domesticated at the same time as horses and donkeys, that is, 5000 years ago.

Camels played a key role in the formation of nomadic civilizations, and not only that. Without camel caravans, the journey of Marco Polo, the discovery of India and China, the introduction of Europeans to rice, spices, silk, paper, precious stones East. Camels were used in numerous wars in India, China, Pakistan, throughout the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa, and they were used in this capacity until the twentieth century, and in India there is still a camel cavalry regiment patrolling inaccessible areas of the border. Now the camel is depicted on the coat of arms of Eritrea. Few people know that the development of North America took place not only with the participation of dexterous cowboys on fast horses, but also with the help of camels, which delivered goods to the southern states. When the railway took over the transport function, the camels found themselves out of work and were thrown out into the desert by their owners. There they reproduced well, but stray animals displeased farmers and were completely destroyed at the beginning of the 20th century. The fate of camels in Australia was similar. This continent was also developed during their active participation. And here people also turned out to be ungrateful and left animals to their fate. But in Australia, wild camels were not destroyed, but multiplied and colonized all the interior regions of the continent. Now in this country there are 50-100 thousand wild dromedaries - a kind of compensation for the destruction of this species in their homeland. This number of camels is regarded as unfavorable, since they are food competitors of native species (kangaroos).

A feral dromedary camel crosses an abandoned railway in the Australian desert.

Camel breeding has its own characteristics. On the one hand, these animals are unpretentious; in Africa and Arabia they are kept on free grazing or in open pens. The same keeping applies to Bactrian camels, but in winter they are often kept in closed, unheated rooms. Camels are fed any kind of food, they eat both low-quality hay and food waste (bread, porridge, vegetables), Bactrians graze on pastures in winter. On the other hand, their grazing is associated with some difficulties. The fact is that camels cannot dig up snow with their soft padded paws, and the crust seriously injures their legs, so they try to release them onto pastures after the horses. Horses break the crust with their hooves, and camels get from under the loose snow what the horses did not eat. For the same reason, camels should not be used on poor gravel roads.

The relationships between camels and people are not easy; they have a “complex” character like a cat. On the one hand, camels are not aggressive, calm and playful, they are easy to control and do not require constant supervision. But it would be a mistake to believe that camels are brainless and uncomplaining cattle; these animals have highly developed intelligence and self-esteem. Thus, a camel allows herself to be milked only by a certain person and only in the presence of a camel. A sleeping or tired camel cannot be raised to its feet until it considers that it has already rested. Therefore, you must handle a camel confidently and respectfully, avoiding cruelty. Camels do not forgive beatings and unfair treatment and cease to obey humans, even if their will is broken by force, they can remember the insult. Camels have a very well developed memory; they remember events for many years and beyond. cruel treatment can take revenge in the most unexpected this moment(for example, lie down and pin down the rider or bite). But camels are not vindictive; they remember goodness with the same strength. A camel always obeys a good owner and has a hard time withstanding separation. There are known cases when sold animals ran away and returned to their previous owner. Interestingly, camels from completely unfamiliar places independently found their way to home several hundred kilometers away!

One hump camel under saddle. Bactrians can be used without a saddle, since a person can sit between the humps; dromedaries can only be ridden when saddled.

Camels were used not only as vehicles, their meat and milk are the main components of the nomadic diet. Camel milk is used for fermentation and preparation of fermented milk drinks. The meat of young camels is tasty, but that of old animals is tough and stringy. Camel fat is similar in quality to lamb fat. Leather and skins are used to make coverings for yurts and household items (harness, belts, ropes). IN progress is underway even the droppings of these animals, because dry, saturated plant fibers Camel dung is an excellent fuel. But among all the products obtained from the camel, the most famous is wool. Long, thick and very warm, it was and remains an indispensable material for the production of clothing, shoes, and blankets. Camel wool is used in felted form (felt) and in the form of yarn (mohair). In terms of its qualities, mohair is not inferior to angora down and cashmere fabrics. Now Bactrian camels are raised mainly for this raw material. It must be said that one-humped and two-humped camels are somewhat different in biology, and therefore are used differently.

A dromedary camel during a competition at the camelodrome.

Dromedary camels

The original inhabitants of Africa, therefore, cannot tolerate frost, but they tolerate heat and drought better than Bactrians. Dromedaries are distinguished not only by the presence of one hump, but also by long legs and a general lightness of build. In this regard, they turned out to be indispensable as riding animals. Since speed was required during wars and raids, the Bedouins bred fast breeds of dromedaries. Nowadays these riding breeds are used as sport animals. Camel racing is the national sport in Saudi Arabia and UAE. Dromedary camels are also used as pack animals and for rides for tourists. The carrying capacity of dromedaries is not very large; they can carry 150 kg of cargo on their back. The largest and heaviest dromedary breeds are typically draft animals. The color of dromedaries is often sandy-gray (probably the color of their wild ancestors); some animals can be white or dark brown. Often even in scientific works There is a distorted name for these camels - dromedary, but it is better to avoid it; sometimes they are called Arabians.

An unusual role for a camel is working in a harness.

Bactrian camels or Bactrians

They got their name from the ancient Bactrian kingdom. They are distinguished by greater massiveness and strength, as well as long hair. Bactrians tolerate frosts well down to -30°...-40°, but tolerate drought and heat less well. Bactrian camels were also used under pack and saddle, but due to their massiveness, the light and fast breeds of Bactrians could not be bred. Among Bactrians, the most common breeds are universal, suitable for both saddle and harness. But the carrying capacity of these camels is higher than that of dromedaries - 250-300 kg! Bactrians are used to produce wool. The color of these camels is reddish-red (wild variant), domestic animals are often gray-yellow and brown, less often white.

Special dairy and meat breeds does not exist in camels; representatives of both species are used equally for these purposes. White animals are of particular value in all breeds. Such camels have always been considered a symbol of good luck and happiness.

Since ancient times, the companion of the southern nomad was the camel - an unpretentious, hardy inhabitant of deserts and semi-deserts. Until now, these animals play a huge role in the lives of many peoples. They are used as horse, pack and horse-drawn transport; camels provide people with valuable wool, milk and meat. Meanwhile, this is one of the most amazing and unusual creatures of our planet.

Types of camels

Camels belong to the genus of herbivorous mammals of the artiodactyl order. Scientists classify them as a separate suborder of callosopods, in which camels and their distant relatives - vicuñas and llamas, living on the South American continent, are the only representatives.

These are large animals, taller than human height, with a long flexible neck, thin legs and a soft fatty hump on the back. Only two types have survived to this day:

Dromedary camel or dromedary;
And the two-humped camel - Bactrian, named after ancient state Central Asia, Bactria, where the unpretentious “ships of the desert” were first tamed by humans.

Camel - unique example adaptation of living organisms to conditions environment. These hardy, surprisingly unpretentious animals thrive in the arid, sharply continental climate of deserts and semi-deserts, calmly enduring both huge temperature changes and prolonged dehydration.

They are distinguished by a dense, elongated body with a small, elongated head. The structure of the flexible neck, curved in the shape of a “U”, is such that the desert dweller can easily tear off leaves and soft branches with sufficient tall trees or pick up food from the ground without bending your long legs. Their ears are small, rounded, and in some breeds they may be almost invisible due to their long, thick fur. The tail with a small hard tassel, in comparison with the body, is quite short, and does not exceed 50 - 58 cm in length.

The entire body of a camel is covered with thick curly hair, which perfectly protects both from scorching rays and from low winter temperatures. The color of the pile can be different: from light sand to dark brown. Occasionally there are even black animals.

The hump, located on the back of a camel, serves as excellent protection from the burning southern sun and is a kind of storage of nutrients. Its top is covered with longer and stiffer hairs than the rest of the body, and often has a color different from the main color. The shape also plays an important role: for example, in an emaciated animal, the hump sags and resembles an empty wineskin. But it quickly rises and becomes dense as soon as the camel eats and gets enough water.

Nature took special care of the camel's head. Large, widely spaced eyes for better visibility have a third eyelid that protects from dust and sand, and are surrounded by long thick eyelashes. Deep brow ridges also provide additional protection from the wind. At the same time, the vision of humpbacked mammals is excellent: they can spot a person a kilometer away, and they can see a large moving object, for example, a car, even 4–5 kilometers away.

Camels are famous for their excellent sense of smell. Thus, they sense water sources in the desert 50–60 km away. This is largely due to the structure of the nose. The narrow nostrils are covered with a special fold, thanks to which the moisture that inevitably evaporates during breathing flows into the mouth; this protects animals from dehydration, but does not dull their sense of smell.

The nasal openings of a camel have such a structure that they can close almost completely, protecting the respiratory tract from sand and the loss of excess fluid. It is thanks to this feature that camels are among the few mammals that can survive a dust storm without damage, which in the desert has truly monstrous destructive power.

The camel's jaw deserves special mention. There are 38 teeth in the oral cavity, including 4 rather sharp fangs - 2 above and 2 below. In addition to them, the lower jaw has 10 molars and the same number of incisors, and the upper jaw has 12 molars and 2 incisors. A camel can easily bite through a hard thorn or dry branch, and its bite is much more painful than a horse's bite. The fleshy lips of these animals - smooth lower and bifurcated upper - are designed for tearing off tough food and have rough, durable skin.

It is known that camels have a sharp, rather unpleasant odor. Contrary to popular belief, this “aroma” does not come from sweat. Camels practically do not sweat at all (in conditions arid climate excess moisture loss would be wasteful). But on the back of the head of these animals there are glands with a sharp-smelling secretion, with which males mark their territory by rubbing their heads and necks on trees.

Outwardly, both a two-humped and one-humped camel may seem disproportionate and even fragile due to thin legs, but this is only an appearance. An adult individual can easily withstand many hours of trekking through the desert and is capable of carrying a load equal to half its weight. Cloven hooves with a large horny claw allow you to move freely on rocky and sandy surfaces, and winter time serve as an excellent help in obtaining food: with the help of them, camels dig out edible branches and thorns from under the snow.

What distinguishes these animals from other artiodactyls is characteristic feature: dense skin growths - calluses - in those places where the camel comes into contact with the soil while lying down. Thanks to them, animals are able to lie without harm even on hot midday sand or rocky ground (and in some areas of Asia and Africa, the temperature of the earth in summer reaches 70⁰ Celsius). Similar formations located on the chest, elbows, knees and wrists of the camel. The exception is wild, non-domesticated individuals: they completely lack elbow, chest and knee calluses.

Thus, these mammals have rightfully earned their name “ship of the desert.” True, all of them amazing features have and reverse side: the list of places where camels live is not that long. In humid climate neither a one-humped nor a two-humped camel can exist, getting sick and dying very quickly.

The question of where camels live is quite complicated. On the one hand, thanks to their endurance, these animals are able to live in areas characterized by arid, sharply continental climate. They are found in deserts and semi-deserts, at altitudes up to 3300 km above sea level. On the other hand, now the number of wild camels is rapidly declining, and their distribution area is becoming smaller. The reason for this was human activity: almost everything open sources The waters in the desert have long been occupied by people, and the haptagai, due to natural caution, are extremely reluctant to approach humans. The wild Bactrian camel has been protected for several decades as an endangered species included in the Red Book. Now there are only a few regions where you can still find Bactrians in their natural, non-domesticated form:

southeast of Mongolia, Trans-Altai part of the Gobi Desert;
the western, arid regions of China, primarily in the vicinity of the long-dry Lake Lop Nor, known for its salt marshes.

In general, the habitats of wild camels are 4 not too large, isolated areas of deserts and semi-deserts.

As for dromedaries, it is impossible to meet them in the wild. The wild dromedary camel finally became extinct at the turn of the New Era and is now bred exclusively in captivity.

The list of places where camels tamed by people live is much wider. They are used as a means of transportation and draft power in almost all areas close to natural conditions to the desert.

Thus, the dromedary camel is found today:

in the north of the African continent, in all countries up to the equator (Somalia, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia);
on the Arabian Peninsula;
in countries Central Asia– Mongolia, Kalmykia, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, in the UAE and Yemen and in other countries up to the northern provinces of India.
in the desert regions of the Balkan Peninsula;
in Australia, where dromedaries were brought by settlers in the 19th century instead of horses that could not withstand critical temperatures and extremely low humidity;
and even on Canary Islands.

Bactrians can boast of no smaller range. The Bactrian camel is one of the most common representatives of livestock throughout Asia Minor and in northern China, in Manchuria.

According to rough estimates, the population of dromedaries in the world now reaches 19 ml; Of these, almost 15 million live in North Africa alone.

Camels are rightfully revered by many peoples almost as sacred animals. After all, not only trade, but also the lives of people in many areas of our planet depend on them.

Etymology of the name

About the origin of the name of this unpretentious representative desert fauna Linguists have been arguing for centuries, but not a single theory has yet been recognized as the only correct one. The difficulty is not only that different countries ah, the “ship of the desert” is called differently, but there is too much of a gulf separating modernity and ancient world. Over the 4,000 years that have passed since the domestication of the camel, the language of different countries has undergone enormous changes, borrowed words managed to become “indigenous” and then become obsolete. However, some assumptions can be made.

The camel has been known to people living in arid desert regions since ancient times. In the life of a Bedouin, he played the same role as a horse in the life of a steppe nomad. Comrade in arms, transport, carrier of heavy loads... And also - nutritious milk, wool for clothing, shelter from sandstorm, meat in a famine year is all camel. It is not surprising that each nation gave its own name to its faithful companions. Thus, in the Kalmyk steppes the majestic hunchbacked giant is still called “byurgud”, in the north of Africa - “mehari”, and in Farsi this animal is called the word “ushtur”.

The Latin name of these animals sounds like “Camelus”, and, according to the most common theory, goes back to the Arabic name “جَمَل” - “gamal” in our usual transcription. All Western European variants of the name camel come from the Latin term: in English speaking countries his name is "camel", in Germany - "Kamel", the heirs of the Roman Empire, the Italians use the word cammello, and the Spanish version sounds almost the same - "camello". The French went a little further - their “ship of the desert” is called “chameau”.

There is much more controversy surrounding the Russian name of this animal. There are three versions of the origin of the word “camel”:

According to the first, the term is a highly distorted borrowing from the Latin language. The Romans, who had colonies in Africa and Asia, knew many large riding animals that were unfamiliar to European inhabitants. One of them, elephantus, meaning elephant, found its way into the Gothic language and was eventually adapted to ulbandus. The Slavs, unlike the Goths, who settled in the lands from present-day Germany to the Balkan Peninsula, lived much further north, and mistakenly used this term to define the large double-humped transport of their southern neighbors.
The second version can be considered a complement to the first, since it can explain how the Western “ulbandus” could transform into the Russian “camel”. The Old Slavonic transcription of this word did not have the letter “r” and sounded like “velьbǫdъ”. This form of the name is used in many Old Russian texts, for example, in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” The two semantic roots of “welblood” are translated into modern ones as “big, great” and “to walk, wander, wander.” This is a completely viable theory - the camel is indeed considered one of the most durable riding animals, capable of covering up to 40 km or more per day.
According to some linguists, the word “camel” came to Russia from Kalmykia, where the word “burgud” is still used.

What do camels eat and what do they eat?

Everyone knows that camels are one of the most unpretentious animals in terms of food. They are able to digest even those foods that other mammals do not touch and can for a long time live without food. The list of what camels eat is quite long. It includes:

grass, both fresh and already faded in the sun;
leaves of trees, especially poplars (in the cold season this is the basis of the camel’s diet);
barnyard;
camel thorn (so named because other animals are unable to digest its tough fiber);
ephedra
sand acacia;
sagebrush;
parfolia;
steppe onion;
saxaul branches;
and some other types of shrubs.

The diet largely depends on where camels live. So, at home, these mammals happily eat grain, hay, silage, fruits and vegetables, as well as any other plant foods. The answer to such unpretentiousness lies in the structure digestive organs camel Its stomach has three chambers and is capable of digesting even the most coarse and, at first glance, nutrient-free food. In this case, animals swallow food without chewing, and after a few hours they regurgitate the semi-digested mixture and slowly chew it.

Camel spit, contrary to popular belief, does not consist of saliva, but of partially digested chewing gum.

The one-humped camel is considered more picky in terms of nutrition than the two-humped camel. Thus, during a hungry period, Bactrians are quite capable of eating animal skins and even bones, while dromedaries are forced to make do exclusively with plant foods.

It has been noticed that a strict “diet” has a much better effect on these amazing creatures than a plentiful diet. In years of famine, the survival rate of the population in winter is much higher than during periods when there was enough food in the summer. All camels can withstand hunger and thirst without harm. An adult animal can go without food for up to 30 days, accumulating nutrients in its humps and subsequently subsisting on them.

Equally phenomenal is the ability of these mammals to withstand thirst. In the absence of any source of moisture, a dromedary camel can live 10 days if it does not expend energy by running or carrying heavy objects. During the period of activity, this period is reduced to 5 days. The Bactrian camel is less hardy in this regard: for it, the period of abstinence in hot weather is limited to 3, maximum 5 days.

In many ways these unique qualities associated with the structural features of the blood. In camels, unlike other mammals, red blood cells are oval in shape, which makes them better able to retain moisture. “Ships of the Desert” can withstand dehydration up to a quarter of their own weight (while for other mammals, a loss of fluid of 15% is already fatal). These amazing creatures can even get moisture from food. Thus, lush grass supplies camels with enough fluid, and on fresh pastures they can go without water for up to 10 days.

However, there are other reasons for such phenomenal endurance:

Both Bactrians and dromedaries lead an inactive lifestyle, thereby expending energy very slowly.
Camels practically do not lose moisture during their life. The steam exhaled from the nostrils precipitates and flows into the oral cavity. The intestines process body waste, almost completely absorbing the liquid (this is the reason that camel feces are often used by desert dwellers as fuel for fires). Camels begin to sweat only if the body temperature rises above 40⁰ and there is real threat death from overheating, but this happens extremely rarely.
The camel’s body is designed in such a way that during a season rich in food and water necessary substances accumulate in its body, gradually being consumed until the time when the animal cannot replenish its reserves.

Domestic camels

For many regions, these animals are not only the optimal means of transportation, but also the only livestock that can easily withstand difficult climatic conditions.

Camel wool plays a huge role in the economy. It is valued much higher than goat or sheep, because due to the large mass fraction of fluff (about 85%) it provides excellent warmth in cold weather. From a dromedary you can get from 2 to 4 kg of wool per year; but the average annual harvest from Bactrian reaches 10 kg.

An impressive portion of the diet of many peoples living in desert areas is occupied by products made from camel milk - cheese, butter, fermented milk drinks, such as Turkmen chal or Kazakh shubat. A camel gives from 2 to 5 liters of milk per day; however, this amount largely depends on the breed of the animal. Thus, the annual yield from Bactrian rarely exceeds 750 - 800 liters. But for dromedaries, 2 tons of milk per year is the norm, not to mention Arvans, from which you can get 4 or more tons per year.

The fat content of camel milk is higher than that of cow milk, reaching 5.5% for Bactrians. In dromedaries this figure is slightly lower – 4.5%. It is rich in many microelements, including iron, calcium, magnesium, and the vitamin C content in it is even higher than in cow or goat milk. Due to its low content of caseic acid, it is easily digestible, has a foamy appearance and has a sweetish taste.

In ancient times, camels were often used as fighting animals. The four-legged warrior carried two riders into battle: a driver in front, and an archer behind. And in the case of hand-to-hand combat, the camel itself turned into a rather dangerous weapon, because he was capable of not only kicking, but also using his teeth. And on the main square of the small town of Aktyubinsk Astrakhan region a monument was erected to two camels named Mishka and Mashka: they were the ones who carried the gun mount, which was one of the first to begin shelling the Reichstag in May 1945.

Camels have long been used as riding and cartage animals. They are able to freely carry a load equal to half their own weight. Outwardly, these imperturbable “ships of the desert” give the impression of slow and phlegmatic animals. However, this is due not so much to their character as to the need to retain moisture, which is consumed much faster during activity. A camel is indeed a very calm animal, and to make it run by spending precious energy, not so simple. But they are capable of walking at a measured pace, without getting tired, for hours, covering a distance of up to 50 km per day, and with constant urging, up to 100 km.

In some countries, the size of the bale a camel can carry is the official measure of weight. It is equal to 250 kg.

In many Arab countries There is a national sport - camel racing. For example, in the UAE, such competitions are held every week, starting from April and until October, when the rainy season continues. On the roads here you can see the usual warning sign for local residents: “Caution! Camels!

Wild and domesticated camels: differences

The ancient ancestors of modern camels were widespread across large parts of Eurasia, North America and the Arabian Peninsula. It was there, according to scientists, that these hardy creatures were first domesticated by humans around the 2nd millennium BC.

To this day, only the Bactrian camel has survived in its wild, original form; the dromedary is found in natural environment exclusively as a domesticated, secondarily feral animal. In fact, the very existence of wild camels was officially confirmed only at the beginning of the 20th century, during an Asian expedition led by Przhevalsky. It was he who discovered the existence of wild Bactrians, called “haptagai”.

The haptagai camel has several noticeable differences from its domesticated ancestor:

their hooves are distinguished by a narrower shape, compared to that of a domestic camel;
the physique of wild camels is lean and dry, with a more elongated muzzle and short ears, and their height and weight are slightly less than those of a domesticated animal;
a hump that is not so spacious makes wild camels more vulnerable during drought or famine;
but the easiest way to distinguish a haptagai is by his clean legs and chest, without the slightest trace of calluses.

Now wild camels are on the verge of extinction: their total number in the world barely exceeds 3,000 individuals.

Lifestyle of Khaptagai camels

Camels in the wild lead a nomadic lifestyle, constantly migrating from one source of water to another. They usually wander small families, from 5 to 10 - 15 individuals. They include one adult male and several females with cubs. Adult males usually roam alone, occasionally joining herds and leaving during the rutting season. Large herds can be found only at watering places, where the number of camels can reach several tens of thousands of heads.

Like domestic camels, khaptagai are diurnal animals. At night they are not active, but during daylight hours they are in constant motion.

Despite constant migrations, the places where camels live are clearly demarcated. These animals do not leave their natural habitat, staying close to springs and oases. As a rule, in the summer they migrate to northern regions, and with the onset of cold weather they move further to the south. At this time, they can be found in oases rich in trees, in the foothills, where it is easy to find protection from the wind, as well as in shallow ravines.

The species of camels that have survived to this day are not very diverse and include only two items: the two-humped Bactrian and the single-humped dromedary.

The one-humped variety of the "ship of the desert", unlike its larger relative, is considered not so much a horse-drawn animal as a racing animal. The very name “dromedary” or “Camelus dromedarius” comes from ancient Greek as “one who runs”, “runner”. It has a shorter height (no more than 190 cm, rarely 210 cm) and is inferior to its two-humped relative in weight, due to which it is capable of developing significantly greater speed.

But in terms of cold resistance, the dromedary camel is more vulnerable. It does not tolerate the cold in the desert well due to its not too thick coat, which protects well from the heat, but does not warm well.

Another distinctive feature of dromedaries is their short, shaggy mane, which starts from the back of the head and turns into a beard, ending in the middle of the neck. There are the same “decorations” on the back, in the area of the shoulder blades. The fur of these animals, as a rule, has a sandy shade of varying saturation, although brown, gray-red and even extremely rare white individuals are occasionally found.

The dromedary camel has other names. So, in many countries it is called “Arabian” - after the name of the area where these animals were first domesticated. It is with Arabian Peninsula leisurely giants with one hump and began their triumphal march around the world.

The second name of this species comes from the ancient state of Bactria, located in Central Asia (the first information about these animals is found in documents from that particular region). Bactrians are much more massive than dromedaries, their height reaches 230 cm, and the saddle between the humps is approximately 170 cm from the ground. The distance between the bases of the humps ranges from 20 to 40 cm.

The Bactrian camel has a long neck, due to the strong bend of which the head and shoulders of the animal are located at the same height (which is not typical for the one-humped representative of these mammals).

The fur of Bactrians is very thick and dense, allowing them to easily withstand extreme cold. In winter, its length reaches 7 cm on the body and 25 on the tops of the humps. But with the onset of warmer weather, the two-humped giants begin to shed, which is why they look rather untidy in the spring - until the period when the hair grows back.

Camel breeds

Despite the fact that currently there are only two species of these unpretentious animals, several varieties are bred in the world, which have many differences from each other. So, only in our country there are 4 breeds of camels:

Mongolian;
Kazakh;
Kalmyk (the largest in the world - it is bred mainly for wool and meat);
and the Turkmen Arvana, famous for its wool.

Of these, only the long-haired Arwana is single-humped. But in Arab countries the number of breeds is approaching 20:

Omani;
Sudanese;
majaim;
azael;
mania, famous for its excellent running qualities;
al-hajin (also used in horse racing);
and others.

Despite a large number of names, the differences between Arabian camel breeds are insignificant. Thus, both the Sudanese and Omani varieties and manias are used in horse racing and are not inferior to each other.

Camel hybrids

The endurance and usefulness of camels in farming are so great that attempts to crossbreed and breed new species have not stopped to this day. Unlike many other animals, hybrid camel species are quite viable.

"Mestizos" include:

“Nar” is a large, weighing up to 1 ton, hybrid of the one-humped Arwan and the two-humped Kazakh camel. Distinctive feature This breed has one large hump, as if consisting of two parts. Nars are bred primarily for their milking qualities - the average milk yield per individual is 2,000 liters per year.
"Kama". This hybrid of a dromedary camel and a llama is distinguished by its short height, on average from 125 to 140 cm, and low weight (it does not exceed 70 kg). This baby does not have a standard hump, but it has excellent load-carrying capacity and is often used as a pack animal in hard-to-reach places.
"Iner", or "Iner". In order to get this one-humped giant with magnificent hair, a female Turkmen camel breed is crossed with an Arvan male.
“Jarbay” is a rather rare and almost non-viable subspecies, born from the mating of two hybrids.
"Kurt." A not very popular one-humped hybrid of a female Inera and a male camel of the Turkmen breed. Despite decent milk yield per individual, they are rarely bred due to the low fat content of milk and unsatisfactory wool characteristics.
"Kaspak". But this hybrid of a Bactrian camel and a female Nara (they are often called Nar-Maya, adding a feminine suffix to the breed) is very popular. It is grown mainly for its large milk yield and impressive meat mass.
"Kez-nar." A hybrid of a camel of the Turkmen breed and a caspak, considered one of the largest both in size and in terms of milk yield.

Camel breeding

Reproduction in camels follows the same pattern as in many artiodactyls. The rutting period for these animals is quite dangerous, both for the camels themselves and for people. Sexually mature males become aggressive, and in the fight for a female, they attack their opponent without hesitation. Brutal battles often end in death or injury to the losing side: during the battle, animals use not only their hooves, but also their teeth, trying to knock the enemy to the ground and trample him. Males participate in the rut starting from the age of 5 (for females puberty occurs much earlier - already at 3 years.)

Camels mate in winter, when the rainy season begins in the desert and there is enough water and food for the animals. Moreover, in dromedaries, the rut begins a little earlier than in Bactrians. After a gestation period, which lasts 13 months for one-humped individuals and 14 for two-humped individuals, one, or rarely two, cubs are born, which within a few hours are fully on their feet and are able to run after their mother across the desert.

Camel cubs vary in size. A newborn Bactrian camel weighs from 35 to 46 kg, with a height of only 90 cm. But a small dromedary, with almost the same height, reaches a weight of almost 100 kg. Both one-humped and two-humped camel species nurse their cubs for 6 to 18 months. And parents show care for their offspring until the cub reaches adulthood.

Camel speed

Camels are famous as excellent runners. average speed a camel's speed is even higher than that of a horse's - from 15 to 23 km/h. There have been cases when a dromedary (which in some literary sources is poetically called a “desert walker”) reached speeds of up to 65 km/h.

Unlike the fast dromedary, the Bactrian camel is not capable of a fast forced march due to its more impressive mass. It is also capable of moving at a speed of 50 - 65 km/h, but it runs out of steam much faster than its one-humped relative. Therefore, on the Arabian Peninsula, in Central Asia and Africa, Bactrians were more often used as horse-drawn transport. Thus, on the coat of arms of the Chelyabinsk region, where the trade route to Iran and China once passed, it is a two-humped giant loaded with bales that is depicted.

How much does a camel weigh?

These mammals are quite different tall: 190 – 230 cm at the withers, with males always slightly larger than females. Body length can vary from 230 to 340 cm for dromedaries, and from 240 to 360 cm for their Bactrian counterparts. The question of how much a camel weighs is controversial. So, on average, the weight of an adult varies from 300 to 800 kg different breeds. However, there are individual giants whose mass reaches 1 ton. The largest representative of this family is the Bactrian camel, and the smallest is the Cama, a hybrid of a dromedary and a South American llama. Weight Limit This baby does not exceed 70 kg.

There is still an ongoing debate about how long camels live. The lifespan of domesticated animals ranges from 20 to 40 years. However, among the khaptagai - wild camels - there are individuals that reach the age of 50 years at average duration life about 4 decades.

What's in a camel's hump?

There is a widespread belief that a camel’s hump is a kind of waterskin that is filled with water and from where the animal subsequently receives the necessary liquid. Actually this is not true. “Ships of the desert” are indeed capable of saving liquid for future use, but in the growth on the back, it is precisely in pure form accumulates the least.

The answer to the question of what is in a camel’s hump is more prosaic and, at the same time, surprising. This physiological reservoir is filled with fat, which performs two functions at once: it protects the body from overheating and accumulates nutrients, due to which the animal can exist for a long time without any food sources at all. An adult is capable of losing up to 40% of its weight without harm to its health and quickly regaining it as soon as it finds food.

In case of prolonged thirst or hunger, fat again decomposes into its components, releasing the energy and water necessary for life.

The process of fat breakdown itself has long been known to nutritionists and underlies most methods of getting rid of excess weight. However, the adaptability of camels to environmental conditions amazed even scientists. Recent experiments have shown that 100 g of fat, when broken down, yields on average about 107 g of liquid.

Camels are able to store liquid for future use not only in the hump, but also in special cavities of the stomach. Having reached a watering hole, the desert walker is capable of drinking more than 100 liters of water at a time. Thus, there is a documented fact: a camel, deprived of food and drink for 8 days during the summer drought, lost 100 kg of weight. Having reached the watering hole, he did not look up from the water for 9 minutes, drinking 103 liters during this time. On average, a one-humped camel can drink from 60 to 135 liters at a time, and a two-humped camel can drink even more.

Hump performs another one important function: regulates heat exchange. This is due to the climatic conditions of the places where camels live. In the desert, the difference between night and day temperatures can reach 50 degrees. The fat pad saves its owner both from the scorching heat (the heat in the Gobi Desert or the Sahara in summer can reach 40 - 45⁰), and from night frosts, often dropping to -10⁰ even in summer time. Sun rays in the summer they are so hot that a hard-boiled egg left in the sand takes half an hour to an hour, and most mammals run the risk of heatstroke and, in the most serious cases, death from overheating. Both one-humped and two-humped camels are free from such risk. The thickness of the fat layer is so great that the animal’s body temperature remains within normal limits. And with the arrival of night, the hump begins to act as a heater, cooling down during the dark time of day to an acceptable 35 - 40⁰ and again providing coolness during the day.

Today it is not so easy to find a wild camel in nature - the habitat of the wild subspecies is shrinking from year to year. However, secondarily wild domesticated animals are found everywhere in Asia, Africa, China and Russia, and even in Australia.

Dromedary camels

Habitat

In the recent past, dromedaries inhabited the desert areas of the Middle East and North African countries. Today, this vast territory is home to herds of domesticated or re-wilded animals. The genetically wild subtype of the dromedary camel has become completely extinct. Animals prefer to live in desert or semi-desert areas. Dromedaries have adapted well to harsh conditions a habitat - physiological characteristics allow them to go for long periods without food or water. They are capable of losing up to 40% of all body fluid without harm to their health, and at a watering hole they drink up to one hundred liters of water in just a few minutes.

The animal tolerates heat well, and sweat begins to appear only at temperatures above +40 degrees.

Domestication

To this day, scientists debate exactly when the domestication of the dromedary camel began. Presumably this happened about 5 thousand years ago. The first domesticated individuals appeared on the territory of the modern Arabian Peninsula, then spread to the African continent. Today, domestic dromedary camels can be found in parts of India, Turkestan, the Canary Islands, as well as throughout the Middle Eastern countries and throughout North Africa. At the beginning of the last century, dromedaries were brought to Australia, where they not only took root well, but also began to actively reproduce. At the moment, the camel population on this remote continent is more than one hundred thousand individuals.

Use and appearance

Dromedaries are actively used as pack animals, capable of carrying up to one hundred and fifty kg of weight. They provide local residents with valuable meat, milk, wool, and leather. Animals are also used as riding animals - for long hikes, in tourism, and special racing and racing camels are bred and take part in races in the Emirates, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and some other countries.

The most common breeds of dromedary camel:

North African Maharis,
Rajputana riding,
Turkmen pack,
Light riding,
Arvana (the only breed bred in Russia, has meat, wool and dairy types).

Dromedaries are distinguished by one hump on the back and smaller sizes. The height of the male is up to 230 cm with a body length of up to three meters. Body weight is no more than 750 kg. The animal has slender long legs and a lean physique. The color of dromedaries is light yellow, ash yellow, light brown, less often smoky and ashen. The head is small, the eyes are expressive, with long eyelashes.

Bactrian camels

Habitat

In the recent past, Bactrian lived in a very large territory of Central Asia, in the deserts of China and Mongolia, in the vastness of modern Kazakhstan and Central Asia. Today, the habitat of the genetically wild camel subspecies is not so extensive and there is a greater chance of meeting a domesticated or wild one. Wild camels live in the Trans-Altai Gobi, Mongolia, in China - the Lop Nor Lake region and in the Taklamakan Desert.

Wild Bactrians in nature lead a nomadic lifestyle, preferring desert places, spacious plains, and foothill areas for living.

Camel families stay close to watering holes, although they can travel up to 100 km a day in search of a source of water. You can often find Bactrians in mountainous areas at an altitude of up to three thousand meters.

Domestication

Bactrians are important animals for many peoples of Central and Central Asia, Kazakhstan, China and Russia. Mention of the first domesticated individuals dates back to the third millennium BC. Today the population of Bactrian camels exceeds two million individuals.

On the territory of Russia, the animal can be found in Kalmykia, Volgograd and Rostov region, Astrakhan, Chelyabinsk.

Use and appearance

The Bactrian camel, unlike its one-humped counterpart, has perfectly adapted to life in a harsh climate with large annual temperature changes. They withstand frosts of -40 and hot temperatures equally well. summer days at +40 degrees. Only damp air is harmful to them. For many nomadic peoples Bactrian is a source of meat, milk, manure for home heating, skins and fur. Camel wool is highly valued for its fineness, warmth, and durability. From one adult animal, up to 13 kg of wool with fluff is cut. Not only kumys is made from milk, but also butter and cheese, cottage cheese, and ice cream. Animals are used both for transporting goods and as mounts.

The appearance of the Bactrian is more than recognizable - the animal’s back is decorated with two humps, a long neck, a slightly hook-nosed head, large and intelligent eyes framed by long and thick eyelashes. The animal's legs are long and strong. Wool length in winter months can reach 30 cm, and in summer - up to 8 cm. Bactrian is distinguished by its large size - only at the withers its height is about 200 cm, and together with the humps - more than 270 cm.

Bactrian breeds reflect where the camel lives. So the Kazakh breed is found and bred mainly in Kazakhstan. The Kalmyk breed, the largest of all known, was bred and cultivated in Kalmykia and in the Volgograd and Rostov regions. The Mongolian camel breed was developed in Mongolia. It is found both in its homeland and in some areas of China, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Bactrian or single-humped, camels have been the source of life for many nomadic peoples for centuries. They are strong, tolerate drought well, and are able to walk many kilometers with a load of up to 350 kg. However, some individuals may have a bad character and bad habits.

About camels

Most often, the innocent question of how many humps an African camel has causes confusion among ordinary people. Everyone knows that there are one-humped and two-humped camels, but which species lives where is a complex question. Different species of camels live on different continents and practically do not overlap in nature: Bactrian camels live in Asia, and single-humped camels have chosen North Africa, Middle East and Australia. The animals came to the Australian continent along with settlers, and since then the population has been actively growing and multiplying.

Zoologists are sure that initially all camels were two-humped. The African subspecies appeared as a result of the animals' adaptation to a hotter climate.

Confirmation of this is that the dromedary embryo has two humps. The second one stops developing over time and completely disappears by the time of birth.

Features of the structure of camels

Camels have good eyesight and a very good memory. Thanks to this, they are well oriented in the area, find their way to watering places and food sources among the endless dunes and dunes. Animals can see humans at a distance of a kilometer. Animals have a well-developed sense of smell - they can smell the smell of fresh water 50 km away, just as they can smell the approach of rain.

Animals have a unique foot structure - two toes have a thick, calloused sole, which allows them to move on hot and loose sand, small sharp pebbles, and also swim. Despite the fact that many camels have not seen rivers and lakes, they are excellent swimmers. Animals move mainly at a walk, but in case of danger they can gallop and reach speeds of up to 65 km per hour.

Living in a harsh climate has resulted in several distinctive and recognizable animal characteristics:

On the chest, in the elbow area, on the wrists and in the knee area, camels have leathery growths - calluses, which allow animals to lie on the hot ground,
The moisture that evaporates from the nostrils when exhaling is collected in a special fold and then enters the oral cavity,
The three-chambered stomach is capable of digesting any, even the roughest food,
The animal’s nostrils open when inhaling and exhaling, this ensures minimal evaporation of precious liquid,
Sweating begins only at temperatures above 41 degrees,
Most of the water is stored in the scar tissue of the stomach,
Camels have a unique structure of red blood cells. They have an oval shape, which protects the blood from thickening and the animal from death,
Animals are able to lose up to 40% of fluid and not die,
When using 100 grams of fat from its humps, a camel is able to obtain up to 110 grams of water,
In one approach to a watering hole, a camel can drink up to one hundred liters of water.

The most important distinctive feature The animal's backbone is the dorsal hump, which accumulates fat deposits. The main task of the hump is thermal protection and regulation of heat exchange, and only then is a supply of food and water.

Camels are ruminants and can even consume vegetation that is very poor in nutrients - wormwood, different types thorns, saxaul, barnyard grass, solyanka, various types of reeds, as well as grass, leaves and twigs of various shrubs and low-growing trees. A hungry animal will not disdain bird eggs or carrion.

Feral individuals are able to go without water for up to nine months - they are fully satisfied with the moisture entering the body through food.

Characteristics of animals

Camels, especially wild and feral ones, are quite irritable and hot-tempered animals. In response to an insult, a threat, or in case of irritation, they spit. But not saliva, as many people think, but the fetid, semi-digested contents of one section of the stomach. The mass not only smells bad, but is also sticky and thick. Males also spit during the rutting season.

The Bactrian camel is more docile in character than the dromedary camel, however, for use on the farm, for riding and transporting goods, all males are castrated to avoid problems during the breeding season. To produce offspring, only a few males are left, who are practically not used for economic needs. Animals usually express their dissatisfaction with a loud roar, less often by biting, and even less often by spitting. More often bad habits zoo inhabitants who suffer more from crowds of tourists are susceptible.

Dromedary African Camel - Arabian

The African camel is called by several names, the most common being dromedary. The dromedary camel is much smaller than its Asian counterpart. At the withers, the height rarely exceeds two meters, and the body length can reach three and a half meters in males. A healthy and well-fed individual can weigh up to seven hundred kilograms.

The answer to the question posed above - how many humps does an African camel have - will be one.

The African camel is one-humped. From the name it follows that it lives in Africa, or more precisely in the north of the continent, but dromedaries are widespread in the Middle East, especially in Saudi Arabia and the Emirates.

The one-humped camel has a beautifully elongated head and a convex forehead, a slightly hump-nosed profile, and pronounced ganache. The animal's eyes are very large and expressive, framed by two rows of long and thick eyelashes. The Arabian's neck is strong, and males often have a peculiar mane consisting of long and sparse hair.

The dromedary camel is perfectly adapted to heat, but even mild frosts can be disastrous for the animal. Dense fur is not thick, and the subcutaneous layer of fat does not protect from frost and dampness. At the moment, there is no wild species of dromedary left in nature. All animals are either domesticated or re-feralized.

Bactrian camel

What is the name of the Bactrian camel? This animal, unlike its one-humped brother, has only one name - Bactrian. The majestic and regal Bactrian lives throughout Central and Central Asia, in some areas of China and Russia. In our country, this animal can be found in the Kalmyk steppes, on the territory of Volgograd, Astrakhan, Rostov and Chelyabinsk region. Bactrians have perfectly adapted to sudden climatic changes - thick and long hair saves animals not only from the scorching sun, but also from severe frosts, snowstorms and rains. They are stronger and more resilient. The length of the coat in the winter months can reach 30 cm or more! Most often, animals have a brown color of various undertones, gray, smoky and black. Cream and white camels are considered valuable.

The Bactrian camel has long and strong legs, with a long neck and a beautiful hook-nosed head. Well-nourished animals have dense and erect humps. During the period of abundance of food and water, the weight of males can reach a ton, and the height of the animal, including humps, reaches three meters. Bactrians have a genetically wild subspecies that survives in some areas of China and Mongolia.

A wild camel is called haptagai. The main difference between haptagai is its smaller size, the absence of calluses on the legs and chest, as well as a drier and leaner physique.

Khaptagai are in constant motion - animals travel up to 120 kilometers per day in search of food and water, and periodically enter mountainous areas. Sometimes they are found at an altitude of three thousand meters.

Nar - a hybrid of a dromedary and a bactrian

The Nar is a viable Bactrian-Dromedary hybrid that is distinguished by its large back hump, long coat, good disposition, and hardiness. The animal can only be obtained at home.

The bunks are divided into several types, depending on the crossing:

Iner or Nar (depending on the country of receipt) is a cross between a two-humped and one-humped camel,
Zharbay is the result of crossing two Nars. It is less common, since individuals are often not viable,
Kospak is a cross between a female Nara and a male Bactrian camel.
Kez-Nar is a cross between females of the cospak subspecies and males of Turkmen Bactrian camels,
Kurt is a cross between females of the Kazakh subspecies of iners with two-humped males of the Kazakh breed,
Kurt-Nar is a cross between females of the Kurt subspecies and males of the Kazakh breed of Bactrian camels.