Camels have long legs, a big –lipped snout and a humped back.
Habitat:
Camels live in deserts. Deserts are hot and dry areas.
Adaptations:
Camels live in dry conditions. Their adaptations include large, flat feet – to spread their weight on the sand, thick fur on the top of the body for shade.
Features:
- They have three sets of eyelids and two rows of eyelashes to keep sand out of their eyes. These bushy eyebrows don’t let the sand go in their eyes in a sandstorm.
- Camels have thick lips. Camels can close their nostrils to prevent sand from entering inside their nose.
- Moreover, they have a thick coat of hair that protects them from the heat in the day, and keeps them warm at night.
- Camel’s feet have two large, evenly sized toes with hooves like small nails at the tip of each toe. Each foot has a wide, cushioned pad at the bottom. The pad spreads its weight evenly across the wide foot and makes the camel stable.
- In total, Camels have 34 teeth. They have eight front teeth, four canines and 22 cheek teeth. The lower jaw is unique. It is too long and the space between teeth is too wide.
- Amazingly, Camels have leathery tongues to eat prickly plants.
- Above all, It has a long neck in order to reach high leaves such as palm trees.
- Their knees help to protect the skin when kneeling and sitting on the hot sand.
- At times, when there is food and water, a camel can eat and drink large amounts of it and store it as fat in the hump.
- Then, when there is no food or water, the camel uses the fat for energy, and the hump becomes small and soft.
- Newborn camels don’t have humps. They gradually grow as they get older.
Other Facts:
- There are two types of camels: one humped or dromedary camels and two humped Bactrian camels.
- Camels can live around 40-50years.
- A group of camels is called a caravan.
- Camel dung is used as fuel.
- To say, It also provides milk. Milk is often the only regular food source for its owners.
- Mainly, humans have used camels as a means of transport for thousands of years. Camel is a beast of burden for transporting goods and people. Camels can carry about 170 to 270 kilograms. It is popularly known as ‘Ship of the desert’.