Why do camels have one hump and two?

In tropical desert, dromedary camel, in temperate desert, bactrian camel; Bactrian camels living in Gobi desert are very different from Arabian camels or dromedaries with humps. The former adapts to the cold desert, while the latter adapts to the hot desert. But both are descendants of the same ancestor guanaco. The primitive camel lived12 million years ago and looks like horses and camels today.

Extended data

Subspecies differentiation

two-humped camel

Bactrian camels are native to Turkestan, China and Mongolia in Central Asia. It was domesticated at least in 800 BC. But there are wild camels in the wild. It is said that there are settlements in China between Tarim and Qaidam Basin and eastward to Mongolia. It often lives in arid areas and migrates with the seasons.

The hump of wild bactrian camels is smaller and sharper than that of domestic camels, with slender body, small feet and short hair. The number of wild bactrian camels is rare, with 4-6 camels in pairs or small groups, and it is rare to see large groups of camels in 12- 15.

Bactrian camels are very thirsty. They can't drink water for more than ten days or even longer. When they are extremely short of water, they can decompose the fat in the hump and produce water and heat.

Drinking water can reach 57 liters at a time to restore normal water content in the body. They feed on various desert plants such as Haloxylon ammodendron, Populus euphratica and Calligonum mongolicum, and eat almost any plant (including saline-alkali plants) that grows in desert and semi-arid areas.

Bactrian camel is docile, easy to ride and suitable for carrying loads: it can carry loads 170 ~ 270 kg in four days and walk about 47 kilometers every day. Their maximum speed is about 16 km per hour. Most male camels act alone, and the competition for females in breeding season is very fierce. If one more male and more females move in groups, a large group of 30/40 camels can be formed.

2 years, 1 fetus, 1 fetus, 13 months pregnant. It is a world-class rare animal. The breeding period is April-May, and the gestation period is12-1April. Each female camel produces two young camels, which are sexually mature at the age of 4-5 and have a life span of 35-40 years.

Bactrian camels have two layers of fur: one is warm inner fluff, and the other is rough outer fur. The two layers of fur will be mixed and shed, and they can be collected and treated separately. Bactrian camel can produce about 7 kilograms of wool fiber every year, and its structure is similar to cashmere. Cashmere of bactrian camels is usually 2 ~ 8 cm long and can be used for spinning or knitting.

one-humped camel

The dromedary camel has been domesticated in central or southern Arabia for thousands of years. At present, it is known that about13 million dromedaries have been domesticated in the world, mostly from west India to Pakistan, and then from Iran to North Africa.

There were no untamed peoples in their initial distribution, but later some dromedary camels were introduced to Australia and some to the United States, so only the dromedary camels in Australia and the United States were wild.

Male dromedaries have a soft upper jaw, which enables them to produce a pink bag. During the mating season, this kind of bag will be hung on both sides of the mouth of the male dromedary camel to attract the opposite sex. The dromedary camel has thick eyelashes and small furry ears.

Living habits

The average speed of camels is 14.5 ~ 16 km/h, and Arabian camels adapt to deep sandy land and hot weather. It can carry 400 pounds (180kg) of cargo and walk 40 miles (64km) every day for four days.

Camels used for racing can reach 8 miles per hour (13 km). The sprint speed can reach 40 mph, and the long-distance sustained speed can reach 25 mph. This kind of camel's hair is short, like wool, and its body is very thin. They are more docile and easier to domesticate than the two-humped camels.

However, by the estrus of the male camel in June+February, 5438, it was found that the speed of the male camel chasing the female camel or rider in this season far exceeded the usual speed, reaching 70 ~ 80 kilometers per hour, which was simply not caught up by the average steed. ?

Camels are hungry and thirsty. Every time they drink enough water, they can still go without water for several days in the hot and dry desert area. Because there are many extremely thin and tortuous tubes in their noses.

Usually, the pipes are wetted by liquid. When the body is short of water, the pipeline immediately stops secreting liquid, and a 1 layer hard shell is formed on the surface of the pipeline, so that it can absorb exhaled water without losing it to the outside. When inhaling, the water in the hard skin can be sent back to the body. Water is used repeatedly in the body, so it can resist thirst.

References:

Baidu encyclopedia-camel