A fully grown dromedary camel can weigh up to 1542lbs, but males are usually 10% heavier than females. From their shoulder they can be up to six feet tall and from their hump up to seven feet. This type of camel has only one hump, a long curved neck, and a deep, narrow chest. Its hump is used for food storage when it needs it. When a camel starves or is in a state of unbalanced nutrition its hump gets smaller and leans to one side. Dromedary camels have long, slender legs that contain strong muscles which allow them to travel remote distances and carry very large loads. The coloring of dromedary camels ranges from all colors of brown to black to almost white. Their feet are pad-shaped and have two toes on each foot; they have leathery pads on the bottom of them so that when they walk their feet won't sink into the sand.

 

Camels are adjusted to living in the desert in the way that they can store water to use later and their feet don't sink in the sand when they walk. Dromedary camels live in the desert or places where there's a long dry season and a short rainy season. They are very sensitive to cold and humidity, so it wouldn't work out too well if people tried to relocate them. Dromedary camels can be found in arid regions of the Middle East, most commonly the Sahara desert, northern India, arid regions of Africa, and also they have been brought into central Australia. They do particularly well in those areas because all of them have dry, hot climates and that's the type of weather that they have adapted to.

 

Wild dromedaries are all extinct but domesticated, there are about 15 million of them. The population of them isn't really growing or shrinking because it's staying sort of in the middle. If it was shrinking it would probably be because of humans using their meat and using the camels to make leather.

 

Camels are herbivores; they mainly eat thorny plants, salt brush, and dry grasses; mostly anything grown in the desert. They can go five to seven days without eating or drinking and they will remain in good health. They don't really compete for food because all they eat are plants and there's plenty around. Dromedary camels really don't have any predators because there's really nothing that would be able to eat them. The only predator I have found that could be one is humans. Humans eat camels for their meat which is said to be a delicacy in the Arabian diet.

 

Something interesting I have found about dromedary camels is that people have come to assume that is very bad-tempered. However, this isn't true; they are good-natured, smart and patient. Also, I have learned that they have a double row of very curly eyelashes. This helps to keep sand and dust out of their eyes. As well, dromedary camels have been extinct from the wild for over 2000 years. They also provide milk, meat, and fuel for humans.

 

Author: Alexis J

Published: 02/2009

 

Sources: Naumann, R. 1999. "Camelus dromedarius" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web.http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Camelus_dromedarius.html. http://www.marisamontes.com/all_about_camels.htm http://camelfarm.com/camels/camels_australia.html

 

Photo Credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:07._Camel_Profile,_near_Silverton,_NSW,_07.07.2007.jpg