
Did you know? ... The hedgehog
June 17, 2021
Did you know …? The Hoopoe
July 23, 2021Camels, like dromedaries, belong to the camelid family. This family of mammals has 3 genera that exist today and 8 genera that are now extinct.
Within the three existing genres is the camelus it includes three species: the dromedary, the Bactrian or Asian camel and the wild camel, the only one never domesticated by man.
- While dromedaries are native to the Arabian Peninsula, camels are native to central Asia, the desert and steppe areas of the Asian highlands, especially between Mongolia and China, such as the Gobi desert.
- The humps or humps are a characteristic element of these animals. Camels have two humps while dromedaries only have one. The humps are a deposit of fatty tissue and do not store water.
- Camels usually have a long coat that sheds throughout the year, so that the thick hair protects them from the low temperatures they usually endure in Central Asia. However, dromedaries have short, uniform hair all over their bodies, adapted to the high temperatures of the Arabian Peninsula.
- Camels are shorter than dromedaries, with shorter but sturdy legs and are typically around 1.8 meters tall. Both camels and dromedaries are already domesticated species, however, the former tend to be more docile
- Thanks to their humps, both camels and dromedaries can survive without drinking for more than 5 days or even weeks, depending on the season. Both animals are capable of being dehydrated up to 40%, causing their humps, which are flexible, to become dwarfed and tend to drop to one side.
These animals are capable of drinking up to 140 liters of water in 15 minutes.
Camel pregnancies last 13 months and they usually have a calf every two years.
The wild camel is currently in danger of extinction.