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Allah the Almighty says: "Do they not look at the Camels how they are created?" (88.17). In this Quranic verse, human beings are asked to contemplate four wonderful things, which they can see in every-day life, and which are full of meaning and high design, to show the goodness of Allah to mankind. The first mentioned, is the creation of the animal known by the Arabs as " Ship of the Desert", namely the Camel.
Let us have a look at the wonderful structure of this animal and how Allah the Almighty contrasts its creation in parallel with that of the Sky how it is raised high, the Mountains how they are fixed firm and at the Earth how it is spread out. Its creation is full of beauty and magnificence, design and order, plainness and mystery. To appreciate the unique contribution that the camel has made to mankind here is a comprehensive fact-pack on the special characteristics, body structure and behaviour patterns of this amazing creature. Camels have magic about them as they tramp off across miles of desert in search of water and then, seemingly against all the odds, find an oasis.
Characteristics & Body Structure
The domestication of animals was a major advance in human history. Today there are two surviving species of domesticated camels: the Arabian camel (dromedary) and the two-humped, shorter-legged Bactrian camel. Camels are large ruminating mammals used as draft and saddle animals in desert regions, especially of Africa and Asia. The Bactrian occurs throughout the highlands of Central Asia from Turkistan to Mongolia, where it has traditionally been an important beast of burden. Although it travels at a slower rate (3 or 5 km per hour) than the Arabian camel, the Bactrian could maintain this pace for a longer time in caravan, usually averaging 50 km (30 miles) per day while carrying a heavy load. The height of the Bactrian is about 2 m (7 feet) at the top of the humps.
The dromedary domesticated in Arabia by traders to make the long and arduous journeys. It was later introduced into in Africa, the Middle East, India and the U.S.-Mexico border regions, the Pacific Northwest, and Australia in the 19th century. A large feral population now exists in Australia. The camel went on to become the desert dweller's primary source of transport, shade, milk, meat, wool and hides.
The Arabian camel is longer-legged, shorter coated, and more lightly built than the Bactrian camel, standing about seven feet (2.1 metres) tall at the shoulder. Its' feet have no traces of the second and fifth toes; the wide-spreading soft feet are adapted for walking upon sand or snow. When being used for riding, can maintain a speed of 13 to 16 km (8 to 10 miles) per hour for 18 hours. He can live on dry and thorny desert shrubs. His limbs are adapted to this life. Horny pads on the chest and knees support the weight when kneeling.
The animals run with a characteristic pacing gait, the legs on each side moving in unison. In adaptation to wind-blown deserts and other unfavourable environments, camels have double rows of protective eyelashes, haired ear openings, the ability to close the nostrils, and keen senses of sight and smell. Camels are docile when properly trained and handled but, especially in the rutting season, are liable to fits of rage. They spit when annoyed and can bite and kick dangerously.
The Arabian camel is likewise primarily important as a beast of burden, though like the other species it also provides wool, milk, hides, and meat. Camels come in every shade of brown, from cream to almost black. It is longer-legged, lighter-built, and shorter-coated than the Bactrian camel.
Miraculous Water Processing
Camels need very little water if their regular diet contains good, moisture-rich pasture. Camels can store water in their stomachs for days and thus are able to fast and go without drinking for 17 days and survive. A camel can go 5-7 days with little or no food and water, and can lose a quarter of its body weight without impairing its normal functions. They lose their body water slowly and can lose up to 25 percent of their weight by dehydration without ill effects. They can then regain their lost weight in a few minutes by drinking water. Although camels can withstand severe dehydration, a large animal can drink as much as 100 litres/25gallons in ten minutes. Such an amount would kill another mammal, but the camel's unique metabolism enables the animal to store the water in its bloodstream.
The wild Bactrian camels are reputed to be able to find water up to 80 Km away. How camels can divine water in this way has given scientists the hump for ages. But now a British team may have sniffed out the secret, and it is right under our noses, lying in the ground. Last year, the John Innes Center (JIC) in Norwich (UK) unraveled the Streptomyces genes. This particular gene was responsible for making geosmin, which gives an alluring fragrance of rain on soil or the musty scent of florists.
In the desert, streptomyces gives of a signature smell in damp ground. Once that scent is carried on a breeze, the camel's well-tuned nostrils can pick it up. In fact, it could be a matter of life or death for the camel. According to Professor Keith Chater, from JIC, the smell could be a way of luring animals into carrying the spores of the streptomyces.
They do not store water in the miscalled water cells and thus they are able to fast and go without drinking for several days. Camels do not pant, and they perspire very little. Humans start to sweat when the outside temperature rises above the normal body temperature of 37،C, but the camel has a unique body thermostat. It can raise its body temperature tolerance level as much as 6،C before perspiring, thereby conserving body fluids and avoiding unnecessary water loss. No other mammal can do this. Because the camel's body temperature is often lower than air temperature, a group of resting camels will even avoid excessive heat by pressing against each other.
Heavy Duty
A Camel is primarily important as a beast of burden, though it also provides wool, milk, hides, and meat. A camel's long, thin legs have powerful muscles which allow the animal to carry heavy loads over long distances. A fully-grown camel can weigh up to 700kg/1542lbs. Normal 'amble speed' for a walking camel is 5kph/3mph; a working camel will typically cover 40km/25 miles a day. Racing camels can reach 20kph/12mph at the gallop.
A camel can carry as much as 450kg/990lbs, but a usual and more comfortable cargo weight is 150kgs/330lbs. It is usual for a camel to work as a beast of burden for only six to eight months of the year; the remainder of the time it needs to rest and recuperate.
Camels have broad, flat, leathery pads with two toes on each foot. When the camel places its foot on the ground the pads spread, preventing the foot from sinking into the sand. When walking, the camel moves both feet on one side of its body, then both feet on the other. This gait suggests the rolling motion of a boat, explaining the camel's 'ship of the desert' nickname.
It can flourish on the coarsest of sparse vegetation and feed on thorny plants, the leaves and twigs of shrubs, and dried grasses that other animals would refuse, though camels are not averse to better food if available. When the feeding is good, they accumulate in their humps stores of fat, which, when conditions are adverse, they are able to draw upon not only for sustenance but also for the manufacture of water by the oxidation of the fat.
The hump is a mound of fatty tissue from which the animal draws energy when food is hard to find. When a camel uses its hump fat for sustenance, the mound becomes flabby and shrinks. If a camel draws too much fat, the small remaining lump will flop from it's upright position and hang down the camel's side. Food and a few days' rest will return the hump to its normal firm condition.
Other adaptations that enable them to survive in deserts and other unfavourable environments include double rows of heavy protective eyelashes, haired ear openings, the ability to close their nostrils, and keen senses of sight and smell.
A camel's ears are small, but it's hearing is acute and are lined with fur to filter out sand and dust blowing into the ear canal. Thick callus-like bare spots of dry skin appear on a camel's chest and knee joints when the animal reaches five months of age. These leathery patches help support the animal's body weight when kneeling, resting and rising.
The female produces one young and occasionally twins at a birth after a gestation of 12-14 months and suckles it for a year; maturity is reached at the age of 10 to 12 years, and the life span is 30 to 40 years, although a working camel retires from active duty at 25. Breeding has been so specialized that the riding camel forms a type quite distinct from the baggage camel.
Rich Source of Protein
The best camel meat comes from young male camels. It is regarded as a delicacy in the Arabian diet, and is gaining popularity in arid lands where it is difficult to herd sheep, cattle and goats. Although it makes for tough chewing, the taste is not unlike beef. Camel's milk is much more nutritious than that from a cow. It is lower in fat and lactose, and higher in potassium, iron and Vitamin C. It is normally drunk fresh, and the warm frothy liquid, heavy and sweet, is usually an acquired taste for the Western palate. Most Saudi Arabian camels are females reared for their milk in dairy herds.
High-quality Fabrics
Camel wool is sought after worldwide for high-quality coats, garments and artists' brushes, as well as being used to make traditional Bedouin rugs and tents. A camel can shed as much as 2.25 kilos/5lbs of hair at each moult. The most satisfactory wool is gathered from camels of the Bactrian type. Such camels have protective outer coats of coarse fibre that may grow as long as 15 inches (40 cm).
The fine, shorter fibre of the insulating undercoat, 1.5-5 inches (4-13 cm) long, is the product generally called camel hair, or camel hair wool. The hair is not usually gathered by shearing. In the winter, camels (especially the Bactrian species) grow thick shaggy coats, which they shed in the spring so that they are almost naked until the new coat starts growing.
Camels have the reputation of being bad-tempered and obstinate creatures that spit and kick. In reality, they tend to be good-tempered, patient and intelligent. The moaning and bawling sound they make when they're loaded up and have to rise to their feet is like the grunting and heavy breathing of a weight-lifter in action, not a sign of displeasure at having to do some work
Camels Today In technologically advanced Arabian countries, even the Bedouin are not as dependent on the camel as they once were. These days, camels are valued more as thoroughbred racing animals and sentimental images of the past than as the mainstay of transportation. These days, camels in the Arabian Peninsula are spoilt and rely on man for their preferred food of dates, grass and grains such as wheat and oats. Camel races are organized for entertainment. But in many parts of Africa and Asia today, camels still pull ploughs, turn waterwheels and transport people and goods to market along desert routes impassable by wheeled vehicles.
The camel's contribution to desert life today dwindles as the mechanical age continues to advance, it is up to us and to future generations to ensure that this wonderful animal retains a special place in the heart of tomorrow's world.
References: Reference Link