Camel, Camel

The dromedary, one-humped or Arabian camel has a single hump and is well known for its healthy low fat milk, and the Bactrian camel has two humps. They are native to the dry desert areas of western Asia, and central and east Asia, respectively.

A fully grown adult camel stands at the shoulder and at the hump. The hump rises about 30 inches (75 cm) out of its body. Camels can run up to in short bursts and sustain speeds of up to.

An estimated half of the world's camel population are found in Somalia and in the Somali Region of Ethiopia, where the camel is an important part of nomadic Somali life. They provide the Somali people with milk, food and transportation.

It is thought that there are about 1000 wild Bactrian camels in the Gobi Desert in China and Mongolia.

This population is growing at approximately 11% per year. The government of South Australia has decided to cull the animals using aerial marksmen, because the camels use too much of the limited resources needed by sheep farmers. For more information, see Australian feral camel.

A descendant of one of these was seen by a backpacker in Los Padres National Forest in 1972. Twenty-three Bactrian camels were brought to Canada during the Cariboo Gold Rush.

The dromedary is six times the weight of a llama, hence artificial insemination was required to impregnate the llama female (llama male to dromedary female attempts have proven unsuccessful). Though born even smaller than a llama cria, the cama had the short ears and long tail of a camel, and no hump. At four years old, the cama became sexually mature and attracted to llama and guanaco females and showed interest in mating with both. A second cama (female) has since been produced using artificial insemination. Because camels and llamas both have 74 chromosomes, scientists hope that the cama will be fertile. If so, there is potential for increasing size, meat/wool yield and pack/draft ability in South American camels. The cama apparently inherited the poor temperament of both parents as well as demonstrating the relatedness of the New World and Old World camelids.

Their temperature ranges from at night up to during the day, and only above this threshold will they begin to sweat. The upper body temperature range is often not reached during the day in milder climatic conditions, and therefore, the camel may not sweat at all during the day. Evaporation of their sweat takes place at the skin level, not at the surface of their coat, thereby being very efficient at cooling the body compared to the amount of water lost through sweating. This ability to fluctuate body temperature and the efficiency of their sweating allows them to preserve about five litres of water a day.

The camel did not lose that distinction until the wheel was combined with the internal combustion engine in the 20th century.

The camels were mostly used in combat because of their ability to scare off horses in close ranges, a quality famously employed by the Achaemenid Persians when fighting Lydia, although the Persians usually used camels as baggage trains for arrows and equipment. The horses detest the smell of camels, and therefore, the horses in the vicinity become harder to control. The United States Army had an active camel corps stationed in California in the 19th century, and the brick stables may still be seen at the Benicia Arsenal in Benicia, California, now converted to artists' and artisans' studio spaces. Camels have been used in wars throughout Africa, and also in the East Roman Empire as auxiliary forces known as Dromedarii recruited in desert provinces. During the American Civil War, camels were used at an experimental stage, but were not used any further, as they were unpopular with the men.

Camel milk cannot be made into butter in the traditional churning method. It can be made if it is soured first, churned, and a clarifying agent added, or if it is churned at 2425 C (7576 F), but times will vary greatly in achieving results. The milk can readily be made into yogurt. Butter or yogurt made from camel milk is said to have a very faint greenish tinge. Camel milk is said to have many healthful properties and is used as a medicinal product in India; Bedouin tribes believe that camel milk has great curative powers if the camel's diet consists of certain plants. In Ethiopia, the milk is considered an aphrodisiac.

It is reported that camel meat tastes like coarse beef, but older camels can prove to be tough and less flavorful.

In the Middle East, camel meat is the rarest and most prized source of pastrma. Not just the meat, but also blood is a consumable item as is the case in northern Kenya, where camel blood is a source of iron, vitamin D, salts and minerals. The camel is also considered a novelty in Australia - for example, a camel lasagne is available in Alice Springs).

Source: Wikipedia > Camel