ORDER
CAMELS
EVEN TOED
UNGULATES
ORDER
Artiodactyla
FAMILY
Camelidae
HABITAT
GENUS & SPECIES
Camelus bactrianus
Camelus dromedarius
BACTRIAN
DESERT
DIET
HERBIVORE
STATUS
Bactrian
2
CRITICALLY
ENDANGERED
DROMEDARY
Dromedary
5
NOT AT RISK
FACTS & FIGURES
Total body length (including tail)
Height to hump
Weight
Pregnancy
Young born
Life span
Bactrian
3 – 3.5m
2.3m
450 – 690kg
13 months
1
50 years
Dromedary
2.75 – 3m
1.9 – 2.3m
450 – 650kg
13 months
1
50 years
DESCRIPTION
BACTRIAN – The Bactrian camel has two
humps, comparatively short legs for
walking on hilly, rocky ground and a long
neck. The feet have thick, elastic pads
which spread to take the camel’s weight
and so support the animal in soft sand.
The Bactrian camel has a thick, woolly coat
as
protection
against
very
low
temperatures. This coat moults in large
pieces during the summer months causing
the animal to look very “moth eaten”.
DROMEDARY – The Dromedary camel
only has one hump. The legs are long and
slender with large feet with two toes to
spread the camel’s weight in soft terrain.
The large knees have pads to protect them
when kneeling down. The Dromedary has
fine hair on head, neck, throat and hump
to protect the camel from the hot sun.
The Dromedary takes its name from the
Greek – dromas – meaning running, in fact
the ‘running camel’ is kept as a racing
animal in many parts of the world.
Slit nostrils
Long eyelashes
Wide feet
Thick hair
POINTS OF INTEREST
THE CAMEL’S HUMP – Camels are one of
the best examples of animals adapting to
their habitat. They are able to trek through
the desert for many days without food or
water. The hump stores fat which is then
broken down and converted into water
when the camel becomes dehydrated.
Camels can tolerate wide variations in
body temperature. Desert nights are very
cold and because of the thick hair camels
take longer to heat up during the day.
Camels also lose very little water in urine
and faeces.
The nose, eyes and ears are especially
adapted to protect these delicate areas from
sand and dust. It has long, double eyelashes,
thick hair in its small ears and long, slit
nostrils which can be completely closed.
NATURAL DIET
The natural diet consists of thorns, dry
vegetation and salt bush, all plants other
animals avoid. Like domestic cows, camels
are ruminants. This means that they graze,
then regurgitate the food in order to chew
it again.
When food is plentiful the surplus is stored
in the hump making it firm. When no food
is stored the hump becomes limp and falls
to one side.
Sometimes this happens with age but often
domestic camels do not store food as they
know they have a plentiful supply.
LONGLEAT DIET
Summer – Grazing only in the rich pasture
of their reserves.
Winter – High fibre cubes and hay are fed.
COMMUNICATION
© Longleat
Camels do not make much noise except
during the mating season. They make a
grunting noise to call their young and have
an unpleasant habit of spitting the bad
smelling contents of their stomachs when
annoyed.
In the wild camels live in small herds led
by an older male.
Young males form bachelor herds from the
age of about 5 years. The females nurse
their foals for up to a year and the foal will
stay with the mother for up to 5 years.
The foal is born with the mother standing
and can walk after two or three hours. It
will be moving with the herd in two or
three days.
Wild
Bactrian
WORLD
DISTRIBUTION
BACTRIAN – In the wild only found in
the Gobi Desert. Domesticated bactrian
camels are found in China, Mongolia,
Afghanistan, Turkey, Iran and Russia.
Domesticated
Dromedary
DROMEDARY – The domesticated
Dromedary is found from North Africa,
through central Asia to Australia.
CONSERVATION
The Bactrian camel is now listed as an
animal that is critically endangered.
Possibly less than 950 wild camels may
now survive in Mongolia and China,
spread over some 155,000 square kilometres of the Gobi Desert. Counting these
animals in the wild is very difficult. Apart
from living in a very bleak environment,
they tend to only be sighted at natural
springs where they gather to drink. Most
sightings are groups of between 2–15
DID YOU KNOW?
There has always been a close
relationship between camels
and man. For thousands of
years it has helped them carry
people and goods across the
desert as well as turn water
wheels and pull ploughs.
Camels are also highly valued
for their meat, milk and wool.
The wool is woven into clothes,
blankets and cloth for tents.
© Longleat
The hides are cured to make
leather.
Camel dung is used for fuel.
animals though some herds can be larger,
the record being 48. They are preyed on by
wolves and poachers. The species now has
complete legal protection in its native
countries.
The Dromedary has not existed in the wild
for several hundred years and it is now
found as a domesticated animal in many
regions of the world.
An Arab takes a
ride on the
‘ship of the desert’.