Nature has created many unusual animals, one of which you can safely call a camel, because only on his back there is a hump, and in some species even a couple of humps.
A camel is incredibly hardy and capable of long distances carrying half-ton weights tirelessly. In addition to the ability to not drink for many days, the desert ship easily copes with the heat, winds and other harsh features of the world of sand and dunes. But not everyone knows why this animal needs humps .. Do you know?
Why does camel hump?
It is generally accepted that camel humps are a kind of water tank in which the “desert ship” stores moisture reserves in case of a long transition. Everyone also knows that without water, a camel can calmly exist for several weeks in a hot African or Middle Eastern climate. On the one hand, there is some truth in this, but in reality this fact is not entirely true.
The structure of the hump of a camel
In fact, the camel humps do not store water, but stores of fat, that is, food reserves in case of unforeseen circumstances and emergency.
Camels are born without dorsal processes, since the fat layer appears after the babies pass from mother's milk to solid food. The main diet of a camel is the spike of the same name, which no other animals eat.
Why can a camel go without water for a long time?
How does a camel replenish water supplies and satisfy its daily need for moisture. Maybe the two-humped can do without drinking at all ... It turns out that a camel is an integral and self-sufficient laboratory. The animal receives water by processing the accumulated fat in the hump by oxidation. As a result of the reaction, 107 milliliters of water is released from 100 grams of internal fat.
It would seem that it could be simpler - oxidized the fat contained in the body, and consume water without approaching the source. Why, then, the rest of the animals are not able to adapt to the desert life? For the oxidation of body fat, large volumes of oxygen are needed, for which the animal needs to inhale the air intensely. With such intense breathing, dry and hot air will enter the body of an ordinary representative of the animal world, and saturated with moisture will leave.
The camel was lucky in this regard. When he inhales, the moisture secreted by the nostrils is retained by a special fold and is collected there, after which it returns to the mouth, from where it is naturally carried throughout the body. Thus, the loss of precious drops of liquid is prevented.
But the camel does not disdain water. If possible, he is able to consume up to 200 liters in one sitting, and he drinks very quickly - in 10 minutes up to 100 liters. And in the choice of water, the two-humped is not scrupulous. It will suit both fresh and salt water. And this is another unique feature of the “desert ship”.His ability to reduce moisture loss to a minimum also helps to survive in hot climates.
Some scientists are sure that the moisture that has got into the camel’s body is evenly distributed over the tissues, and does not accumulate exclusively in the humps. If this was true, then in comparison with other animals, the concentration of salt in a camel would be an order of magnitude lower. Today it is already known for certain that this is not so.
A camel is a warm-blooded animal, but it has one distinctive feature. If most representatives of the fauna maintain the same temperature throughout the day, then camels can adjust their temperature depending on the time of day and the ambient temperature. A camel varies in degrees between 35-45 degrees Celsius. In this way, the animal is able to reduce moisture loss by perspiration with an increase in daytime temperature in the desert.
And still, camels never suffer from dehydration, unlike most animals, which can die from a lack of water in the body if the loss of water is about 20% of body weight. The camel, having lost even 40% of its water component, will continue to carry not only its body, but also the load assigned to it to the nearest oasis without any special consequences.
Why does the camel hump?
Now it becomes clear why some individuals have one or both humps hanging on their sides. The camel simply lost weight: all the fat accumulation that shaped the hump went into drinking.As soon as the camel manages to recover, gain normal weight, that is, drink and eat, the “fallen” hump will again return to its original position.
Why is fat in the humps?
Why is all fat accumulated exclusively in the humps, and not stored evenly throughout the body? Everything is simpler than one might expect: in addition to its nutritional and moisture-forming functions, fat works as an insulating material, preventing heat loss, while the humps are a kind of natural roof, protecting the camel from scorching sunlight in this way.
So it turns out that a camel is a unique animal, created exclusively for work in the desert. And do not be surprised if you see this creation of nature with drooping humps. The camel is not old, it is just tired.
