The Camel
The camel is known as the ship of the desert. Because it can move at a speed
of 65 kilometres per hour in the desert. The camel is a cud-chewing mammal
that is used as a draft or a saddle animal in such desert regions. The life of
a camel is very tough and it is rarely seen without work. They are mostly
spotted in the regions of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, the Thar Desert in
India, etc. The Arabian camels are known to be taller and larger in size.
The camel’s body is covered with short fur of brown colour. It has a long and
slender head. It has one of the longest necks for a mammal due to which it can
eat green leaves of high bushes or trees. Camel has very thick skin and for
this, it doesn’t feel thirsty for a long time and doesn’t sweat in the hot
climate of the desert.
It has four legs which are very long. The feet of the camel are flat to enable
them to walk on the sand in the desert without sinking. It has a tail that is
short as compared to its other body parts.
Camel has a mouth that is smaller than its body. It has two big eyes on which
the eyebrows have big hairs to protect his eyes from dust in the desert. It
has two ears; there is a wall of hair around his ears to protect ears from
sand storms. Camel has two nostrils, and whenever dusty thunderstorms come in
the desert, the camel closes its nostrils, so that it does not get soil in its
nose.
Camels have a bag in their stomach that helps them in storing water for the
future. Camel can live in the desert for about one month without water.
Because the high amount of water in his body doesn’t let his body temperature
go down in hot temperatures or sunlight.
There is a hump formed on the back of the camel in which fat keeps
accumulating. Speaking in general language a part of the food camel eats gets
stored into the hump as fat. This helps him in the future, when food is not
available in the desert for a long time, then he uses the stored fat in his
hump.
Camel is a vegetarian animal. It eats green grass, green leaves, grains, and
bushes. They usually live on trees and grass. It also feeds on the thorny
shrubs of the desert land.
The life span of a camel is 40 to 50 years, and it spends its entire life
working for humans and even after its death, its body gives valuable items
like leather, strong bones, strong teeth, etc., which are used to make boots,
sweaters and other warm clothes. A female camel can give about 5 to 7 litres
of milk in a day, which is used to make ice-creams, sweets and also
recommended to a person having diabetes, cholesterol, cow milk allergy, and
dengue.
Camel has also been a means of transport in the olden times, and even today,
camels are used by the soldiers to protect borders. Camel is also used in
agriculture. It is an animal that can easily tolerate both conditions,
extreme heat and extreme cold. Fertilizer is also made from camel dung and
at the same time camel dung is dried and used as biogas fuel.
A camel can get the scent of water from miles away. It can also know when a
sandstorm approaches. It is the most useful animal for man in the desert
region. The camel carries the belongings of a nomad tribe and also the
nomads for long distances in the desert. This is the reason why they are
called the ship of the desert.
There are two types of camels found in different parts of the world. One is
a dromedary camel, also known as the Arabian camel found in North Africa and
the Middle East. The second is the Bactrian camel found in Central Asia.
The camel is thus the most resourceful animal in the desert. Its meek nature
makes it a very lovable animal. Man is usually helpless on long stretches of
burning sand in the desert. He also tends to lose way at times. Thus, in the
absence of water, food, trees, grass, plants, and a guide, man’s greatest
friend is the camel.
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