Saturday, August 8, 2009

Camel


The camel was originally valued in its homeland for not only providing a ride for weary travelers across the desert, but also providing shade with its body and fuel from it's droppings. 

The camel's body temperature can reach a blistering 105 degrees but the heat doesn't seem to bother the animal. In fact, they hardly sweat, which helps them conserve water. Speaking of water, it is a common falacy that the hump is where moisture is stored. The hump is actually a huge supply of fat that the camel uses when food is scarce. If the camel goes for a really long time without eating, using only the stores in his hump, the hump will shrink until it is just floppy skin. So, where is the water stored??? The camel can drink over 20 gallons in 10 minutes, and a lot of that fluid is stored in the camels bloodstream! There are so many "special features" on the camel! His feet are spongy and spread out as he takes a step, so that he won't sink in the sand! His long eyelashes keep flying sand out of sensitive eyes, but if that doesn't work he has a third eyelid that's transparent so that he can see and still keep his eyes sand-free. He has very good hearing and can close his nostrils. During mating, the male camel uses a fleshy frog-like inflatable soft palate to attract the female. They have thick skin on their backs to protect them from the sun, but thin skin on their bellies to help keep them cool. Large callused areas keep their knees safe from the burning sand.

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