Camel in the Berry Bush

by Jennie Breeze

Title

Camel in the Berry Bush

Artist

Jennie Breeze

Medium

Photograph - Original Img_0953

Description

Most camels surviving today are domesticated. The only wild camels left are the Bactrian camels of the Gobi Desert. The average life expectancy of a camel is 40 to 50 years. A full-grown adult camel stands 6 ft 1 in at the shoulder and 7 ft 1 in at the hump. Camels can run at up to 40 mph in short bursts and sustain speeds of up to 25 mph. Bactrian camels weigh 300 to 660 to 2,200 lb and dromedaries 660 to 1,300 lb. The male dromedary camel has in its throat an organ called a dulla, 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. Camels mate by having both male and female sitting on the ground, with the male mounting from behind. Camelids are the only ungulates to mate in a sitting position. 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. 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. Camels have a series of physiological adaptations that allow them to withstand long periods of time without any external source of water. Camels are able to withstand changes in body temperature and water consumption that would kill most other animals.

Uploaded

December 2nd, 2013

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