Camels

Camels

Natural creatures are most beautiful and soft, we only need to love them or at least give space for them to live freely on Earth. The family ‘Camelidae’ have only six species. These six species are:-

1. Camels,

2. Dromedaries,

3. Llamas,

4. Alpacas,

5. Vicunas, and

6. Guanacos.

They all are plant eating mammals and live in some of the driest and most inhospitable environment on Earth. The Arabian or Dromedary and Bactrian Camels have many other adaptations to desert life. Both species eat a wide range of plant material, including vegetation that other plant eating animals actively avoid, such as thorns and saltbush.

It is very curious to know about camels that they have an ability to go without water for long periods, often up to ten months in the wild. As a result, they can wander far from desert oases in search of food. When they do come across water, they can drink more than 34 gal water at a time. Camels conserve water by producing very dry stools and passing little water in the form of swat or urine. Other desert adaptations include the prominent humps, which store fat and enable camels to go for long periods without food. Camels can also close their nostrils to keep sand out and keep in moisture. They also have thick fur, which insulates them from the cold desert nights and protects them from the intense daytime heat.

Camels are highly prized in their native Africa and Asia. They have enabled people to exploit some of the world`s most inhospitable deserts, providing a valuable source of nutrition in an otherwise barren land. Camels are also used as beasts of burden to carry people and their belongings from place to place. In South America, the Incas built an empire based on the llama and its ability to transport people and their goods around. Even today, these animals supply many people with meat and skins. Guanacos are the most abundant of all camelids, while the population of vicunas is now starting to recover following decades of steady decline.