One-humped camel, or dromedary (dromedary) Camelus dromedarius. One-humped camel (dromedary, dromedary) - description One-humped camel descended from a wild form

One-humped camel (aka dromedary) was domesticated by humans about 5,000 years ago. Nomadic peoples still use it as a pack, riding and draft animal. Dromedary provide their owners with milk, meat, wool and skins. Most of them live in a semi-wild state, and wild one-humped camels live in Australia.

HABITAT

Dromedar is common in North Africa and Southwest Asia. Its range extends from canary islands to India. In the 19th century, European settlers brought dromedaries to Australia, where part of the livestock fled and ran wild. In the rest of the territory, dromedaries are domesticated or live in semi-wild herds belonging to nomadic tribes. The one-humped camel lives in places with a dry climate, where the average annual temperature does not fall below 20 ° C, rains rarely fall and no more than 500 mm per year, clouds of sand and dust are carried in the dry air of the desert, raised by constantly blowing winds, and the change of seasons is almost not expressed.

LIFESTYLE

The one-humped camel is perfectly adapted to the hard life in the desert. Thick coat perfectly protects the animal from the heat of the day and the night cold. The dromedary escapes from the dust raised by the wind by tightly closing its nostrils, and its eyes are covered with a fringe of thick and long eyelashes. The soles of the feet of the animal are equipped with cushions made of elastic leather, which facilitate walking on loose sand. In the desert, a camel moves slowly and in one hour is able to walk or amble for about 5 km (amble is a gait in which the animal simultaneously shifts both left and then both right legs forward). Dromedary live in small groups. Around an adult male, a harem of one and a half dozen females usually gathers, sometimes accompanied by grown-up juveniles. There are also groups consisting exclusively of females with camels, and bachelor herds of males. If there is little vegetable food, the grazing herd disperses through the desert. A camel needs 30-50 kg of food per day, and in order not to live from hand to mouth, it must spend 8-12 hours looking for food. The diet of the animal includes both green ephemera, which appear only after rains, and all kinds of bindweeds, grasslands, acacias and saline plants. From time to time dromedary chews the bones of dead animals and fish, thus replenishing the reserves of calcium and phosphorus in the body. A well-fed camel has an impressive hump filled with fat and can weigh up to 15 kg. When it becomes tight with food, the dromedary lives off the reserves of its "pantry"; Moreover, in the process of chemical breakdown of fat, water, which is so necessary for life, is formed from it.

BREEDING

When female dromedaries go into heat, the males become extremely aggressive. They gnash their teeth excitedly, salivate profusely, and vigorously rub the secret of the occipital glands into their shoulder blades. During this period, fierce fights often occur between males. Opponents gnaw at each other, strike with the head and front legs, fighting with equal success both standing and lying down. The winner approaches the female, and she lies down on the ground, showing him her favor. During mating, which lasts 10-20 minutes, the male makes characteristic gurgling sounds. After 13 months of pregnancy, the female gives birth to one camel weighing 25-50 kg. The female gives birth most often standing. As soon as the baby is born, the mother carefully sniffs him, but does not lick or eat the placenta, and the newborn immediately tries to stand up and find the mother's udder.

A day later, the baby joins the herd and, together with adults, roams the desert. For the first three months, he eats only mother's milk, and then begins to pinch greens. Camels willingly spend time in games with their peers, which often resemble fights between adult males. The mother weaned the one-year-old offspring from the udder. He tries to suckle for a while, but, as a rule, by this time his mother is again pregnant and without ceremony drives him away. Females become sexually mature at 3-4 years, and males at 5-6 years. An adult female brings offspring once every two years.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Dromedar is able to drink up to 130 liters of water in one sitting and loves to swim in the rain.
  The camel is the only one of all mammals whose body temperature varies depending on the time of day from 34 to 41 °C. When the temperature rises to 40 °C, the sweat glands begin to secrete sweat, which cools the animal's body.
• On the folds of the camel's limbs there are noticeable thickenings of elastic keratinized skin (the so-called corns), the thickness of which reaches 7 mm. When a camel lies on the ground, calluses protect the most vulnerable parts of his body from injury.
• At short distances, a camel can run at a gallop at a speed of up to 25 km / h.
• The only hump of the dromedary is analogous to the rear hump of the Bactrian. In the process embryonic development in the dromedary, a second hump also forms, but then disappears before birth.

RELATED SPECIES

The camelid family is represented by 6 species of animals: the dromedary, the Asian Bactrian, as well as the natives of South America, the llama, alpaca, guanaco and vicuña. All these animals feed on plant foods and are well adapted to the harsh conditions of life in the mountains and deserts. Thick woolen cover serves them as excellent thermal insulation. The closest relative of the dromedary is the Bactrian Bactrian camel.

Bactrian camel (Bactrian) ( camelus bactrianus ) lives in the cold deserts of Central Asia. It has two clearly separated humps on its back. These formations, filled with fat reserves, stand upright, and fall on the sides of the animal in the absence of food. The height of the Bactrian at the withers reaches 230 cm, and the weight is up to 700 kg. Its legs are shorter than those of the dromedary, and the coat is longer and much thicker.

Thanks to this, the Bactrian camel tolerates significant temperature fluctuations well - from 50-degree heat in summer to -25 ° C in winter. Bactrian is able to do without water for a long time, runs fast and is very hardy. It reaches puberty at 4-5 years and lives up to 50 years.

The one-humped camel or dromedary belongs to the genus camels and forms a species that, in wild nature only partially preserved. Its domestication began 4 thousand years ago on Arabian Peninsula. At that time, representatives of the species inhabited desert areas North Africa and Western Asia. Currently, only domesticated dromedaries live in Asia and Africa. Small in number wild populations found in arid regions of North Africa, including the Sahara. There is also a wild population in Australia. there one-humped camels began to be imported in the 19th century. Some of them ran away and became wild, forming wild herds. Man uses this animal as a pack animal and for riding.

The dromedary has one hump. The height at the withers in males is 1.8-2 m. In females, the corresponding value is 1.7-1.9 m. The total height from head to ground varies from 2.3 to 3.4 m. Males weigh 400- 600 kg, the weight of females is 300-540 kg. The neck is long and arched, the chest is narrow, the eyelashes are long, the nostrils are narrow and closed. Vision is very sharp, the sense of smell is well developed. The upper lip is bifurcated. The length of the tail is not more than 50 cm. There are 2 fingers on the legs, which do not rest on hooves, but on leathery pads.

Wool Brown color, but can vary from black to almost white. Long hair are present on the throat, shoulders and hump. When walking, the camel moves both legs on the same side of the body at the same time. The hump contains reserves of fat. But fluid reserves are stored in the stomach. In males, a pink pouch about 18 cm long hangs from one side of the mouth. During the mating season, it swells and attracts females.

Reproduction and lifespan

Sexual maturity in a one-humped camel occurs at the age of 3 to 5 years. It directly depends on the region where animals live. The mating season lasts from 3 to 5 months. Males at this time behave aggressively towards each other. Mating takes place during the rainy season. Pregnancy lasts 15 months. 1 camel is born. After a few hours, he is free to move. Milk feeding lasts 9-18 months. The cub lives with its mother for 2 years, then begins independent life. Females produce offspring once every 2 years. One-humped camel lives 40-50 years.

Behavior and nutrition

These animals are active during the daytime. In the wild, they live in small groups or harems. They consist of an adult strong male, several females and their cubs. Grown up young males unite in bachelor groups and try to start their own harems. Leaders among males are determined by fights. The dromedary is a herbivore. The diet consists of any plants. These are dry herbs, leaves, thorny plants. It is thorny plants and shrubs that account for 48% of the total diet. One-humped camels also suck juice from young juicy grass. They can tolerate up to 40% fluid loss from the body. At one time they are able to drink 100 liters of water.

Relationship with a person

Given that the one-humped camel is strong and docile, it is considered a popular domesticated animal. Use it for a variety of purposes. Milk, meat, wool, leather are obtained from it. They ride on it, it carries cargo. The dromedary is especially popular among the pastoral tribes of Northern Arabia. In addition, it lives close to people in the semi-arid regions of Africa and Asia. In general, there are about 15 million of these animals on the planet. About 80% is in Africa. 500 thousand live in Australia. Of these, 99% are wild. In India, there are about 1 million individuals, in Pakistan there are 800 thousand. Sports races are organized on these animals in the UAE.

Origin

Once upon a time wild one-humped camel, or dromedary (dromedary) ( camelus dromedarius) lived in the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East, however, only domestic single-humped camels have survived to this day, which are widely used by humans in Asia and Africa for transporting goods or riding. Surprisingly, the only large population of wild (or rather, feral) one-humped camels, numbering from 50 thousand to 100 thousand animals, lives in Australia. The name "dromedary" Greek translates as "running".

Appearance and features

Many features of this animal speak of its relationship with the Bactrian camel: two toes dromedary covered not with hooves, but with corn pads; his stomach consists of several chambers; and he can also go a long time without water. However, there are numerous differences: dromedaries have only one hump and it is significantly inferior in size to two-humped camels (its body length ranges from 2.3 to 3.4 m, height at the withers - from 1.8 to 2.3 m, weight - from 300 to 700 kg). The tail of a one-humped camel is rather short, no longer than 50 cm, and the body is more slender, with more long legs; top part head, neck and back are covered with long hair.

Like many inhabitants of open spaces, vision plays leading role in the life of camels. But their sense of smell is not worse developed - apparently, camels are able to smell for several kilometers. The upper lip of dromedaries is bifurcated, the nostrils are slit-like and can close voluntarily; eyelids are extraordinarily protected long eyelashes from sand ingress; there are numerous calluses on the knees, feet and other parts of the body, which protect the camel's body from burns in contact with sand and stones heated by the sun. Special mechanisms in the body of dromedaries minimize fluid loss. A dense woolen cover does not allow excessive evaporation, there are very few sweat glands, and animals begin to sweat only in 40-degree heat. During the day, body temperature can reach 41 degrees, at night it drops to 34 degrees, such temperature fluctuations help to save up to 5 liters of water. When carrying cargo, dromedaries can do without water for a week, and without a load - up to 20 days, while losing up to 40% in volume without harm to themselves. However, if a camel reaches the water, it quickly compensates for the entire volume of liquid lost by drinking up to 130 liters of water at a time (and it can also drink salt water). It is interesting that camels do not store liquid in the hump at all, but in the stomach, while the hump contains fat reserves, which the camel's body gradually uses for energy. The one-humped camel saves every drop of moisture: almost all liquid is extracted from urine and feces before excretion. In general, it is adapted to a dry climate, perhaps even better than the Bactrian - at least the one-humped camel is common in more southern areas.

Food

A camel eats up to 20 kg of grass, leaves and branches per day, devoting 8-12 hours a day to grazing. He can be content with dry vegetation, as well as vegetation rich in salt; it is able to pluck leaves from trees at a height of up to 3.5 m, and on occasion it also eats food of animal origin. Dromedary willingly eat even a camel thorn, studded with 5-centimeter spikes. Very mobile lips help him to carefully pluck and correctly orient thorny branches in his mouth, and chew them without pricking. Food is swallowed almost unchewed and first enters the anterior stomach, where it is completely digested. This process resembles the process of digestion in ruminant artiodactyls, however, zoologists believe that these two groups of animals developed independently, as evidenced by the presence of numerous glands in camelids in the anterior stomach. The molars of camels grow throughout their lives without forming roots, which is very important when feeding on tough cereals.

Social behavior and reproduction

living in the wild dromedaries form harem groups, numbering from 6 to 30 heads and consisting of one male, females and their offspring of different ages. During the rut, duels take place between males, during which fatal bites are sometimes inflicted on the opponent. During this period, the occipital skin glands of males secrete a copious secret, and the animals rub their heads against other parts of the body, throwing their heads back. Pregnancy in dromedaries lasts from 360 to 440 days, usually one camel is born, which by the end of the first day can already walk. The milk of a camel is very concentrated, and she feeds a camel for 7-10 months, although from 3 months he tries plant food. Communication with the mother remains for a very long time, up to 1-2 years, and young females reach sexual maturity at the age of 3 years, males - at 4-6 years.

domestication

Dromedary were domesticated by humans no later than 6,000 years ago. Domestic dromedaries are distributed from the Mediterranean to equatorial Africa, northern India, Ciscaucasia and Central Asia. In total, there are about 17 million one-humped camels in the world, with more than 50% in Sudan and Somalia. Max Speed dromedary runs 25 km / h, it moves at a pace of about 3.5 km / h and travels up to 40 km per day (in exceptional cases up to 80 km). Maximum weight the load with which the camel is able to move is 300 kg, but usually about 100 kg are loaded on it.

Titles in Russian : dromedary, one-humped camel, dromedary.
In English - Dromedary, Arabian camel; in Ukrainian - One-humped camel; in German - Dromedar, Arabisches Kamel.

Origin of name: The word "dromedary" comes from the Greek "dromeios" - "fast running".

Description

Appearance: Elongated (but not as long as bactrian camel) wool grows on the neck, shoulders and hump. The chest is deep and narrow, the neck is long and arched.
Hooves are absent. Each foot has two big toes resting on a callous thickening of the skin lying on a keratinized sole. Two large claws protrude from the sole. Such limbs are adapted for walking on rocky desert and soft sand, but not for traveling on sharp stones, slippery surfaces and sticky mud.
There are calluses on the chest, elbows, knees and heels. The lips are hard, which allows the camels to eat the thorns. The upper lip is bifurcated.
The eyes are large, with thick eyelashes and a nictitating membrane (third eyelid) that protects the eyes from the wind. During sandstorms camels close not only their eyes, but also their slit-like nostrils.
In male dromedaries soft sky, which they inflate during the breeding season to attract females. This pouch (red) is often mistaken for the tongue as it it hangs on one side, protruding from the mouth.

Behavior

The one-humped camel leads a daytime nomadic lifestyle. Animals travel up to 70 km per day. AT summer months they stick to bushes and sandy plains, in winter they migrate to salt lakes and swamps.
Dromedary spend 8-12 hours a day feeding. As they move, they strip branches and leaves as they go. Each serving of chewing gum is chewed up to 40-50 times.
On hot days, dromedaries rest huddled together, which lowers their body temperature. If there are water sources nearby, camels go to water at dawn. In ten minutes, a dehydrated camel can drink up to 130 liters of water. Dromedaries do not tolerate frost well.
They run well, reach speeds of up to 25 km / h, but the usual speed of a caravan is up to 10 km / h.
Camels love to wallow in the sand, rub their bodies against trees, and scratch their bodies with their front and hind legs, as well as with their lower incisors. They swim well.
Vision is well developed, the animal can see a moving object at a distance of up to 1 km. With the help of the sense of smell, it can smell water at a distance of up to 40-60 km.

Lifestyle

social structure: wild dromedaries are found in groups of three species: 1 - single males, 2 - summer groups (females with camels), 3 - winter groups (leader male, 5-20 females and their camels). In groups of the third type, the leader guards his females from other people's camels (both males and females).
Old males meet alone. Animals in such groups are not territorial. During a drought, camels unite in herds of up to several hundred individuals.
Outside of the breeding season, one-humped camels are not aggressive.

Enemies: not known.

reproduction

reproduction: During the breeding season, males gather a herd of up to 20 females. The male actively protects his females from other males.
The male dromedary has well-developed odorous glands (about 6 cm in diameter) on the back of the head. With their secret and urine (the male urinates on his tail and at the same time waves it in different directions, thus spraying it), he marks his territory.
When two rivals meet, the males scream, if none of the rivals retreats, the males try to press each other to the ground with their necks, biting their legs and grabbing their heads.
Mating lasts 7-35 minutes (average 11-15). Pregnant females are separated from the main herd and collected in separate groups.
Interestingly, in the embryo of a one-humped camel, two humps are first formed.

Season/breeding period: The period coinciding with the beginning of the rainy season and the increase in daylight hours.

Puberty: Females at 3-4 years old, males at 5-6 years old. Reproductive age in females lasts up to 30 years.

Pregnancy: Lasts 13-15 months.

Offspring: The female gives birth to one camel. The weight of the newborn is 30-50 kg. Dromedary camels are born without a hump. Lactation lasts up to 1.5-18 years. A female can give up to 8-10 liters of milk per day.

Economic importance

Benefits for a person: The peoples of the desert have tamed one-humped camels since ancient times: they ride them, carry various goods, make clothes and housing from wool, drink camel milk and eat camel meat.
Northern Arabian tribes began using dromedaries as mounts about 3,100 years ago.
Dromedaries and Bactrians produce fertile offspring.

Harm to humans: Wild camels cause damage to fruit tree plantations, although not as severe as other wild animals (horses, donkeys and goats).
During a drought, wild dromedaries, gathered at the source drinking water, can pollute it, as well as destroy all vegetation growing nearby, thereby sometimes completely destroying the oasis.
Camels suffer from tuberculosis and brucellosis, which are transmitted to livestock.

Number and protection

population: The population of wild one-humped camels in Australia is estimated at about 500 thousand individuals. The number continues to increase.
In total, there are about 17 million dromedaries in the world.
Currently, one-humped camels are not considered as wild animals, but as semi-domesticated animals living under human supervision.

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One-humped camel, or dromedary (lat. Camelus dromedaries) - artiodactyl mammal from the Camelidae family (lat. Camelidae). It was tamed by man over 5,000 years ago. Until now, nomadic tribes and peoples use these animals along with for carrying heavy loads and riding.

Dromedary provide their owners with meat, milk, warm wool and skins. A large number of camels still live in a semi-wild state, and completely feral specimens live in Australia. At one time, the animal is able to drink about 130 liters of water. It can exist for many days without a watering place, and even a 20% loss of water does not cause a violation of its physiological processes.

The habitat of one-humped camels extends to the territory of Africa and Asia. They were brought to Australia by the first settlers in early XIX century. Some of the animals fled and ran wild. In other territories, camels have been domesticated or live in semi-wild herds.

In the wild, dromedaries inhabit regions with average annual temperature not lower than 20°C and with low rainfall up to 500 mm per year.

reproduction

During mating season males become very aggressive. They begin to vigorously rub the odorous secrets of the occipital glands into the shoulder blades, grind their teeth and release copious amounts of saliva. At this time, fierce fights often break out between them.

Enraged opponents headbutt each other frantically, kick with their front legs, and bite. The fight can take place even in the supine position. The winner goes to the female, and she lies down in front of him, thus expressing her favor.

Pregnancy lasts 13 months. A camel calf weighing from 25 to 50 kg is born. After the birth, the mother carefully sniffs the newborn, but does not lick it, and the baby stands up and immediately starts feeding. The very next day after birth, the cub begins to roam with his herd.

For three months, the camel adheres to a milk diet, and then gradually begins to get used to adult food. Most Camels dedicate time to games with their peers. Often these games resemble duels between adult males.

A one-year-old cub is weaned from the udder by the mother, although he still continues to feed on milk. Sexual maturity of females occurs at the age of 3-4 years, and males by 5-6 years. Once every two years, an adult camel is able to bear offspring.

Behavior

The single-humped camel is very well adapted to living in the desert. Its thick coat protects the body well from scorching sun rays and from the cold of the night. Tightly closed nostrils save the dromedary from dust storm and his eyes are protected by dense eyelashes.

On the soles of the animal there are cushions made of elastic skin, which allow it to easily move along loose sands. With its unhurried gait, a camel can cover 5 km in one hour.

The one-humped camel is a unique mammal that can change its temperature depending on the time of day from 34°C to 41°C. When the temperature rises to 40 ° C, the animal sweats, and the sweat cools the whole body.

The only hump is an analogue of the rear hump of the Bactrian (two-humped camel). During embryonic development, a second hump forms in the dromedary, but it disappears before birth.

Camels usually live in small groups. Up to one and a half dozen females with juvenile juveniles gather around one sexually mature male. Sometimes males gather in bachelor groups, and camels with camels in ladies' groups.

With a small amount of food, the herds disperse through the desert. For one day, the animal needs up to 50 kg of food, and in order not to starve, it spends up to 12 hours a day in search of food.

Camels replenish their diet with one-day plants growing after rain, all kinds of cereals, bindweeds, acacias and saline plants. To replenish the body with calcium and phosphorus, they chew on the bones of dead animals or fish.

A well-fed dromedary hump is filled to capacity with fat, and its weight can reach 15 kg.

When there is a shortage of feed, he can use his body fat, which in the process of chemical decomposition form water.

Description

body length adult reaches 3 meters, the height at the withers is 2.3 m. The head is held high. The nostrils are located above the eyes. The eyelids are lined with thick eyelashes that can protect the eyes from sand. Small round ears are immersed in wool. Forked upper lip allows you to cut branches of thorny plants.

The long neck has a characteristic curve. On the back is a hump, the size of which is individual for each animal. The color of the thick woolen cover varies from fawn to brown. On the sternum and knee joints there are calluses from rough skin. The legs are very long and end in a foot with two toes.

The life expectancy of a one-humped camel is about 40 years.