I was in Jigawa state sometime ago and found a herd of Camel. I was moved to stop and examine these beautiful creatures at close range. The herders were very friendly and allowed me to snap a couple of pictures which I will share on this thread. I was prompted to read more about Camels and was really enlightened about the genetic make-up of Camels and their beneficial uses.

The material below was gotten from https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel
but the photographs are mine.


A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back.

The three surviving species of camel are the dromedary , or one-humped camel (C. dromedarius ), which inhabits the Middle East and the Horn of Africa ; the Bactrian , or two-humped camel ( C. bactrianus ), which inhabits Central Asia; and the critically endangered wild Bactrian camel (C. ferus) that has limited populations in remote areas of northwest China and Mongolia.

Bactrian camels take their name from the historical Bactria region of Central Asia (Yam & Khomeiri, 2015). [3] Additionally one other species of camel [4] in the separate genus Camelops , C. hesternus [5] lived in western North America and became extinct when humans entered the continent at the end of the Pleistocene . Both the dromedary and the Bactrian camels have been domesticated; they provide milk , meat, hair for textiles or goods such as felted pouches, and are working animals with tasks ranging from human transport to bearing loads.


The term camel is derived via Latin and Greek (camelus and κάμηλος
kamēlos respectively) from Hebrew or Phoenician gāmāl . [6][7]
Most of the world's camels are dromedaries (94%) while Bactrian camels and wild Bactrian camels make up only 6% of the total camel population (Yam & Khomeiri, 2015). [3] "Camel" may also be used more broadly to describe any of the seven camel-like mammals in the family Camelidae : the three true camels and the four New World camelids (the llama, alpaca,
guanaco , and vicuña ). [8]

The average life expectancy of a camel is 40 to 50 years. [9][10] A full-grown adult camel stands 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) at the shoulder and 2.15 m (7 ft 1 in) at the hump.

Camels can run at up to 65 km/h (40 mph) in short bursts and sustain speeds of up to 40 km/h (25 mph). [12] Bactrian camels weigh 300 to 1,000 kg (660 to 2,200 lb) and dromedaries 300 to 600 kg (660 to 1,320 lb). For instance, the average speed for the one humped camel is about 40 km/hour while the two humped camel has around 27.2 km/hour (Yam & Khomeiri, 2015).



The male dromedary camel has an organ called a dulla in its throat, a large, inflatable sac he extrudes from his mouth when in rut to assert dominance and attract females. It resembles a long, swollen, pink tongue hanging out of the side of its mouth. [13] Camels mate by having both male and female sitting on the ground, with the male mounting from behind. [14] The male usually ejaculates three or four times within a single mating session. [15] Camelids are the only ungulates to mate in a sitting position. [16]

Ecological and behavioral adaptations

Camels do not directly store water in their humps as was once commonly believed. The humps are actually reservoirs of fatty tissue: concentrating
body fat in their humps minimizes the insulating effect fat would have if distributed over the rest of their bodies, helping camels survive in hot climates.

In hot and dry environments, within 8 to 10 days only the dromedary camels might consume water which during this period the third of their body's weight may be reduced due to the dehydration (Breulmann, et al., 2007). [19] When this tissue is metabolized, it yields more than one gram of water for every gram of fat processed. This fat metabolization , while releasing energy, causes water to evaporate from the lungs during respiration (as oxygen is required for the metabolic process): overall, there is a net decrease in water. [20][21]
A camel's thick coat is one of its many adaptations that aid it in desert-like conditions.



Somalia has the world's largest population of camels. [22]
Camels have a series of physiological adaptations that allow them to withstand long periods of time without any external source of water. [18] Unlike other mammals, their red blood cells are oval rather than circular in shape. This facilitates the flow of red blood cells during dehydration [23] and makes them better at withstanding high osmotic variation without rupturing when drinking large amounts of water: a 600 kg (1,300 lb) camel can drink 200 L (53 US gal) of water in three minutes.



Camels are able to withstand changes in body temperature and water consumption that would kill most other animals. Their temperature ranges from 34 °C (93 °F) at dawn and steadily increases to 40 °C (104 °F) by sunset, before they cool off at night again. [18] In general, to compare between camels and the other livestock, camels lose only 1.3 liters of fluid intake every day while the other livestock lose 20 to 40 liters per day (Breulmann, et al., 2007) [26] Maintaining the brain temperature within certain limits is critical for animals; to assist this, camels have a rete mirabile , a complex of arteries and veins lying very close to each other which utilizes countercurrent blood flow to cool blood flowing to the brain. [27] Camels rarely sweat, even when ambient temperatures reach 49 °C (120 °F). [9] Any sweat that does occur evaporates at the skin level rather than at the surface of their coat; the heat of vaporization therefore comes from body heat rather than ambient heat. Camels can withstand losing 25% of their body weight to sweating, whereas most other mammals can withstand only about 12–14% dehydration before cardiac failure results from circulatory disturbance. [25]



When the camel exhales, water vapor becomes trapped in their nostrils and is reabsorbed into the body as a means to conserve water. [28] Camels eating green herbage can ingest sufficient moisture in milder conditions to maintain their bodies' hydrated state without the need for drinking.
The camels' thick coats insulate them from the intense heat radiated from desert sand; a shorn camel must sweat 50% more to avoid overheating. [30] During the summer the coat becomes lighter in color, reflecting light as well as helping avoid sunburn. [25]


The camel's long legs help by keeping its body farther from the ground, which can heat up to 70 °C (158 °F). [31][32] The two humped camels classified as bigger than the dromedary camels and for this reason, the skin became significantly more helpful for usage as wool and leather (Yam & Khomeiri, 2015). [3] Dromedaries have a pad of thick tissue over the sternum called the pedestal . When the animal lies down in a sternal recumbent position, the pedestal raises the body from the hot surface and allows cooling air to pass under the body. [27]



Camels' mouths have a thick leathery lining, allowing them to chew thorny desert plants. Long eyelashes and ear hairs, together with nostrils that can close, form a barrier against sand. If sand gets lodged in their eyes, they can dislodge it using their transparent third eyelid . The camels' gait and widened feet help them move without sinking into the sand.


The kidneys and intestines of a camel are very efficient at reabsorbing water. Camel's kidneys have a 1:4 cortex to medulla ratio. [35] Thus medullary part of camel's kidneys occupy twice as much area as a cow's kidney. Secondly, renal corpuscles have a smaller diameter, which reduces surface area for filtration. These two major anatomical characteristics enable camel to conserve water and limit the volume of urine in extreme desert conditions. [36]



Camel urine comes out as a thick syrup, and camel feces are so dry that they do not require drying when the Bedouins use them to fuel fires. [37][38][39][40] The camels are able to live in difficult conditions without drinking water due to their ability to produce small and pretty dry droppings as well as they use the water to maintain their body’s temperature to fit with the region surrounding them (Breulmann, et al., 2007). [19]



The camel immune system differs from those of other mammals. Normally, the Y-shaped antibody molecules consist of two heavy (or long) chains along the length of the Y, and two light (or short) chains at each tip of the Y. Camels, in addition to these, also have antibodies made of only two heavy chains, a trait that makes them smaller and more durable. These "heavy-chain-only" antibodies, discovered in 1993, are thought to have developed 50 million years ago, after camelids split from ruminants and

The beneficial use of Camels includes,


1) Textiles, Camel hair can be used to make textiles.

2) Camels were also used for Military purposes back in the days. In the East Roman Empire , the Romans used auxiliary forces known as
dromedarii , whom they recruited in desert provinces. [87][88] The camels were used mostly in combat because of their ability to scare off horses at close ranges (horses are afraid of the camels' scent), [16] a quality famously employed by the Achaemenid Persians when fighting Lydia in the Battle of Thymbra.

The United States Army established the U.S. Camel Corps , which was stationed in California in the late 19th century. [16] One may still see stables at the Benicia Arsenal in Benicia, California , where they nowadays serve as the Benicia Historical Museum. [91] Though the experimental use of camels was seen as a success (John B. Floyd, Secretary of War in 1858, recommended that funds be allocated towards obtaining a thousand more camels), the outbreak of the American Civil War saw the end of the Camel Corps: Texas became part of the Confederacy, and most of the camels were left to wander away into the desert. [86]


France created a méhariste camel corps in 1912 as part of the Armée d'Afrique in the Sahara[92] in order to exercise greater control over the camel-riding Tuareg and Arab insurgents, as previous efforts to defeat them on foot had failed. [93] The camel-mounted units remained in service until the end of French rule over Algeria in 1962. [94]


In 1916, the British created the Imperial Camel Corps. It was originally used to fight the Senussi , but was later used in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in World War I . The Imperial Camel Corps comprised infantrymen mounted on camels for movement across desert, though they dismounted at battle sites and fought on foot. After July 1918, the Corps began to become run down, receiving no new reinforcements, and was formally disbanded in 1919. [95]
In World War I, the British Army also created the Egyptian Camel Transport Corps, which consisted of a group of Egyptian camel drivers and their camels. The Corps supported British war operations in Sinai, Palestine, and Syria by transporting supplies to the troops. [96][97][98]


The Somaliland Camel Corps was created by colonial authorities in British Somaliland in 1912; it was disbanded in 1944. [99]


Bactrian camels were used by Romanian forces during World War II in the Caucasian region. [100]


The Bikaner Camel Corps of British India fought alongside the British Indian Army in World Wars I and II. [101]


The Tropas Nómadas (Nomad Troops) were an auxiliary regiment of
Sahrawi tribesmen serving in the colonial army in Spanish Sahara (today
Western Sahara). Operational from the 1930s until the end of the Spanish presence in the territory in 1975, the Tropas Nómadas were equipped with small arms and led by Spanish officers. The unit guarded outposts and sometimes conducted patrols on Camel back.



3) Dairy purposes,

Camel milk is a staple food of desert nomad tribes and is sometimes considered a meal in and of itself; a nomad can live on only camel milk for almost a month. [16][37][104][105] Camel milk is rich in vitamins, minerals, proteins, and immunoglobulins; [ citation needed ] compared to cow's milk, it is lower in fat and lactose, [106] and higher in potassium, iron, and vitamin C. [11] Bedouins believe the curative powers of camel milk are enhanced if the camel's diet consists of certain desert plants. [16][107] Camel milk can readily be made into a drinkable yogurt, as well as butter or cheese, though the yields for cheese tend to be low. [16][106]


Camel milk cannot be made into butter by the traditional churning method. It can be made if it is soured first, churned, and a clarifying agent is then added. [16] Until recently, camel milk could not be made into camel cheese because rennet was unable to coagulate the milk proteins to allow the collection of curds. [108] Developing less wasteful uses of the milk, the FAO commissioned Professor J.P. Ramet of the École Nationale Supérieure d'Agronomie et des Industries Alimentaires , who was able to produce curdling by the addition of calcium phosphate and vegetable rennet. [106] The cheese produced from this process has low levels of cholesterol and is easy to digest, even for the lactose intolerant. [109][110] The sale of camel cheese is limited owing to the small output of the few dairies producing camel cheese and the absence of camel cheese in local (West African) markets. [106] Cheese imports from countries that traditionally breed camels are difficult to obtain due to restrictions on dairy imports from these regions. [111]
Additionally, camel milk has been made into ice cream in a Netherlands Camel farm.


4) Camels are the ultimate pillars that support national economies of many developing countries, because they are useful for transport, and provide food in the form of meat and milk (Tariq et al.,2010). [113] A camel carcass can provide a substantial amount of meat. The male dromedary carcass can weigh 300–400 kg (661–882 lb), while the carcass of a male Bactrian can weigh up to 650 kg (1,433 lb). The carcass of a female dromedary weighs less than the male, ranging between 250 and 350 kg (550 and 770 lb). [15] The brisket, ribs and loin are among the preferred parts, and the hump is considered a delicacy. [114] The hump contains "white and sickly fat", which can be used to make the khli (preserved meat) of mutton, beef, or camel. [115]

On the other hand, camel milk and meat are rich in protein, vitamins, glycogen, and other nutrients making them essential in the diet of many people. The two common camel species are Dromedary and Bactrian. From chemical composition to meat quality, the dromedary camel is the preferred breed for meat production. It does well even in arid areas due to its unusual physiological behaviors and characteristics, which include tolerance to extreme temperatures, radiation from the sun, water paucity, rugged landscape and low vegetation (Aleme, 2013). [116] Camel meat is reported to taste like coarse beef, but older camels can prove to be very tough, [11]
[15] although camel meat becomes more tender the more it is cooked. [117] The Abu Dhabi Officers' Club serves a camel burger mixed with beef or lamb fat in order to improve the texture and taste. [118] In Karachi, Pakistan, some restaurants prepare nihari from camel meat. [119] In Syria and Egypt, there are specialist camel butchers. [120]



Camel meat has been eaten for centuries. It has been recorded by ancient Greek writers as an available dish at banquets in ancient Persia, usually roasted whole. [121] The ancient Roman emperor Heliogabalus enjoyed camel's heel. [37] Camel meat is still eaten in certain regions, including
Eritrea , Somalia, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia , Egypt, Syria, Libya, Sudan , Ethiopia,
Kazakhstan , and other arid regions where alternative forms of protein may be limited or where camel meat has had a long cultural history. [15][37][114]


Camel blood is also consumable, as is the case among pastoralists in northern Kenya , where camel blood is drunk with milk and acts as a key source of iron, vitamin D, salts and minerals. [15][114][122] Camel meat is also occasionally found in Australian cuisine: for example, a camel lasagna is available in Alice Springs . [121][122]
A 2005 report issued jointly by the Saudi Ministry of Health and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention details cases of human
bubonic plague resulting from the ingestion of raw camel liver. [123]



Source:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel

more pictures...

Now I know that contrary to popular belief, the Camel does not store water in its humps.


It is also good to learn that some World powers at the time, made use of Camel in its military conquest.


And I look forward to having a taste of Camel meat when I visit Australia sometime in the future. I ate Horse meat recently and it was a delicacy I must say.

uboma:
.....

You try! Tiri Gbosa for your effort!

Oh dear, I thought I saw 'How well do you know the camel toe'

Social media has polluted my innocent mind

Ishilove:
Oh dear, I thought I saw 'How well do you know the camel toe'

Social media has polluted my innocent mind

You have joined Bad gang

Ishilove:
Oh dear, I thought I saw 'How well do you know the camel toe'

Social media has polluted my innocent mind

lolz.