What makes camels survive in the desert

You can tell if a camel is about to spit: its cheeks fill up and bulge. Extreme living. Bactrian camels, native to the Gobi Desert in China and the Bactrian steppes of Mongolia, grow a shaggy coat in the winter for protection from the freezing cold and shed the coat during the hot summer. These camels can survive a wide range of temperatures, from minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit minus 29 degrees Celsius to degrees Fahrenheit 49 degrees Celsius!

Domesticated dromedary camels are found throughout desert areas in North Africa and the Middle East. A feral population of dromedary camels lives in Australia. The camels were imported in the 19th century as pack animals and were used to cross the vast desert regions there. Swirling desert sand can be a problem for most of us, but camels have special adaptations for the pesky stuff.

A thin nictitating membrane on each eye, like a clear inner eyelid, protects the eyes from sandstorms while still letting in enough light for camels to see.

Double rows of extra-long eyelashes also help keep sand out of the eyes. And camels can close their nostrils to keep sand out of their nose, too! Their large, broad feet are heavily callused; they expand when stepped on and contract when lifted to simplify walking in sand or snow. Camels are diurnal and spend their days eating.

They are very clever at finding food in their harsh desert environment. Each half of the split upper lip moves independently, so camels can get near the ground for eating short grass. These tough but flexible lips can break off and eat vegetation such as thorns or salty plants; they even eat fish. Camels are ruminants, like cows, and they regurgitate the food back up from their stomach to chew it again.

When they do that, smelly gasses come up as well, making for some pretty potent breath! Highly social, camels live in herds with a dominant adult male; males that have been chased out of the group form bachelor herds. Least Concern Extinct. Current Population Trend: Unknown. Share Tweet Email. Go Further. Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city.

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Paid Content How Hong Kong protects its sea sanctuaries. They have other features that allow them to survive in the desert, such as double rows of extra-long eyelashes to help keep sand out of the eyes. They are also able to close their nostrils to keep out sand. Camels are herbivores, eating grass, grains, wheat and oats. They will spend their days searching for food and grazing.

However, food can be tough to come by in their harsh desert environment. They have tough but flexible lips that enable them to break off and eat vegetation, such as thorns or salty plants that other mammals may avoid. Like cows, camels are ruminants, meaning they regurgitate the food back up from their stomach to chew it again. A camel can survive for over a week without water and can survive for several months without Camels store fat in their humps, which can be used for energy when food and water are scarce.

The hump changes size depending on the amount of food that the animal eats. Domesticated dromedary camels are found throughout desert areas in North Africa and the Middle East.

A feral population of dromedary camels lives in Australia. After a gestation period of 12 to 14 months, the female camel gives birth to one or rarely two newborns. An expectant mother removes herself from the herd when she is about to give birth. She finds a private area covered with vegetation for her calving spot.

But while we layer up, turn the heating up and pull our woolly hats down all to keep warm, our Bactrian camels have a clever way of keeping toasty. You might be wondering why a desert animal like a camel would need a way to keep warm! Bactrian camels are from the Mongolian desert. Camels are perfectly adapt to living in this extremely changeable environment. Their most noticeable way of living in these challenging conditions is the two humps on their back.

In these humps camels store fat. Yes fat, not water! When food is scarce across the desert camels use the fat in their humps to provide vital nutrients.