Camel

For other uses, see Camel (disambiguation).

iCamels
Bactrian Camel, Camelus bactrianus Dromedary, Camelus dromedarius
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Camelidae Genus: Camelus Linnaeus, 1758
Species
Camelus bactrianus Camelus dromedarius

Camels are even-toed ungulates in the genus Camelus. The Dromedary or Arabian Camel has a single hump, and the Bactrian Camel has two humps. They are native to the dry and desert areas of Northern Africa and Asia, respectively. The average life expectancy of a camel is 30 to 50 years. The term camel is also used more broadly to describe any of the six camel-like creatures in the family Camelidae: the two true camels, and the four South American camelids: Llama, Alpaca, Guanaco, and Vicuña.

The name camel comes via the Greek κάμηλος (kámēlos) from the Arabic جمل (jamal).

Bactrian camels have two coats: the warm inner coat of down and a rough outer coat which is long and hairy. They shed their fiber in clumps consisting of both coats, which can be gathered and separated. They produce about 7 kg (15 lb) of fiber annually. The fiber structure is similar to cashmere wool. The down is usually 2 to 8 cm (1–3 inches) long. Camel down does not felt easily. The down is spun into yarn for knitting.

A fully-grown adult camel stands 1.85m/6 feet at the shoulder and 2.15m/7 feet at the hump. It can run up to 40mph in short bursts, and sustain speeds of up to 25mph.

Humans first domesticated camels between 3,500–3,000 years ago. The Dromedary and the Bactrian Camel are both still used for milk (which is more nutritious than cow's milk), meat, and as beasts of burden—the Dromedary in western Asia, and the Bactrian Camel further to the north and east in central Asia.

Distribution

Map of the world showing distribution of camelids, and the separation of camels (on the left) and Lamas (on the right). Solid black lines indicate possible migration routes.

Although there are almost 13 million Dromedaries alive today, the species is all but extinct in the wild, persisting mainly as domesticated animals (mostly in Sudan, Somalia, India and nearby countries), as well as South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. There is, however, a substantial feral population estimated at up to 700,000 in central parts of Australia, descended from individuals introduced as means of transport in the 19th century and early 20th century. This population is growing at approximately 11% per year and in recent times the state government of South Australia has decided to cull the animals using aerial marksmen, the reason being that the camels use too much of the limited resources needed by sheep farmers. For more information, see Australian feral camel.

The Bactrian Camel once had an enormous range, but is now reduced to an estimated 1.4 million animals, mostly domesticated. It is thought that there are about 1000 wild Bactrian Camels in the Gobi Desert, and small numbers in Iran, Afghanistan and Kazakhstan.

A small population of introduced camels, Dromedaries and Bactrians, survived in the Southwest United States until the 1900s. These animals, imported from Turkey, were part of the US Camel Corps experiment and used as draft animals in mines, and escaped or were released after the project fell through.

According Reuters, the recent discovery of a previously unknown giant camel species in central Syria, thought to be 100,000 years old, is leading scientists to reconsider traditional theories of camel origins.

Camel Hybrids

Bactrian Camels have two humps and are rugged cold-climate camels while Dromedaries have one hump and are desert dwellers. Dromedary hybrids are called Bukhts, are larger than either parent, have a single hump and are good draft camels. The females can be mated back to a Bactrian to produce ¾-bred riding camels. These hybrids are found in Kazakhstan. The Cama is a camel/llama hybrid bred by scientists who wanted to see how closely related the parent species were. 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, no hump and Llama-like cloven hooves rather than the Dromedary-like pads. At four years old, the Cama became sexually mature and interested in Llama and Guanaco females. 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.