Study Of Camels Ship Of Desert

The camel is commonly known as the friend of man in deserts. The study of camels is an interesting activity.They may have one hump or two humps. It is believed that unlike the common concept of the camel being a desert dweller, around forty million years ago the camel inhabited North America. Later it crossed over to Asia and Africa via Alaska. There are two types of camels in Asia the one-humped camel is called dromedary and the two-humped Bactrian camel. The zoological name of the one-humped camel is Camelus Dromedarius and that of the two-humped camel is Camelus bactrianus.

A Study of camels reveals that they are believed to be not an angry and ill-mooded lot. In reality they are generally in a good mood, have high levels of mental tolerance and are sensible. But one cannot guarantee a camels mental disposition at any particular point of time. They may exhibit unexpected behavior. The unpleasant sounds that it makes when getting on to its feet actually conveys that it is preparing itself for the work, not that it is expressing any discomfiture on being signaled to work.

Study of camels refutes the belief that a camel stores water in its hump. The hump consists of fatty tissue from which the camel draws nourishment when it cannot find food. This hump becomes loose and hangs on the side of the camel if excessive fat is burned from it. When the camel undergoes normal nourishment again the hump regains its previous form and position. The camel stores the water in its bloodstream.

According to the study of camels, these animals do not sweat or pant as easily as human beings. They have the internal body mechanism to adjust to very high climatic temperatures. The camel is the only mammal which can achieve this. Their bodies are physiologically designed to minimize water loss. They can also control the heat intake of their bodies. The movement of a camel, by moving the limbs on one side of the body and then the limbs on the other side of the body, resembles the rocking motion of a ship on sea. Hence it is also called the ship of the desert.

Study of camels show that the ears and eyes of a camel are structurally designed to filter out sand and dust. The ears are lined with fur and the eyes have double rowed eyelashes for this purpose. Further the thick bushy eyebrows of the camel protect it from harsh sunlight. The broad, flat and padded feet of the camel prevent it from sinking in the sand. A camel can function normally without food and water for 5-7 days and can survive on thorny shrub or any desert vegetation if it does not get its quota of preferred food of wheat, oats, barley. Arab