When running, a camel can reach a speed up to 40 mph in short bursts, 25 mph for longer periods of time. Camels do not have hooves. The foot of a camel is made up of a large leathery pad, with two toes at the front, the bones of which are embedded in the foot. The padding makes the gait of a camel silent, and keeps it from sinking in the sand. The camel also has pads of thick leathery skin, on its leg joints, enabling it to kneel or lay in the hot sand. Similar to giraffes, camels move both legs together on each side of their body to walk.
As a domestic animal, the camel is used for milk, food and transportation. Camels can carry up to lbs on their back for distances in the heat. Their dung is so dry that it can be used to fuel fires. Camels are herbivores, they most commonly eat grasses and desert plants, although there are stories of camels consuming tents and just about anything else around.
The inside of their mouth is lined with very thick skin that allows them to chew up thorny plants that other animals cannot consume. They can reach trees and limbs that are up to 11' high. The stiff hair on their nose allows them to forage in prickly or thorny plants. The diet of a camel requires salt, so the salty plants that grown in salt lakes and other areas are part of their normal diet.
Camels are ruminant feeders and do not chew when they eat their food, but later regurgitate the cud and finish digesting it later. Behavior and Life Cycle An adult camel reaches sexual maturity around the age of 2 to 3 years. They do not normally give birth prior to the age of 5 years. Once a cow starts breeding she will give birth to a calf about once every 2 to 3 years. The breeding is seasonal and occurs when daylight hours increase.
The female cycle is about 27 days in length. Once pregnant, the duration of the pregnancy is about 12 to Normally a single calf is born, but on rare occasion twins have been conceived. The two types of camel are found in different parts of the world. The Bactrian camel lives in Central Asia. No matter the type, camels are usually found in the desert, prairie or steppe.
Though many people think that camels only live in hot climates, they do well in temperature ranges from 20 degrees F minus 29 degrees C to degrees F 49 degrees C. Camels like to stay together in groups called herds. The herds are led by a dominant male, while many of the other males form their own herd called a bachelor herd. Camels are very social and like to greet each other by blowing in each other's faces.
After a gestation of 12 to 14 months, a mother camel will find a private spot to have her young. Female camels usually only have one baby, but sometimes camels have twins. Baby camels are called calves.
The newborn calf is able to walk within 30 minutes, though the two won't rejoin the herd until around two weeks later. Camels become fully mature when they are 7 years old. Camels live around 17 years. Dromedary camels Camelus dromedarius and the domestic Bactrian camel Camelus bactrianus were named in by Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus, who only knew of the domestic variety.
Wild Bactrian camels Camelus ferus were discovered in by Nikolai Prejevalsky, a Russian geographer who explored Mongolia and Tibet. For many years, the wild Bactrian was thought to be a subspecies of the domestic Bactrian. However, in recent years, DNA analysis confirmed that C. The main difference between the two species is that the wild Bactrian has three more chromosome pairs than the domestic Bactrian.
Here is the classification of camels, according to Integrated Taxonomic Information System :. For one, they have that strange hump on their backs — or is it two humps? Also, camels can go for days without drinking water, even in the hot dry desert.
Little kids: A grown-up camel stands 6 feet tall at the shoulder, but its hump is 1 foot higher up than that. How high is the top of its hump? Bonus: If 2 dromedaries and 2 bactrian camels go for a walk, how many humps do they have?
Big kids: Camels can live for 50 years.
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