CAMEL
Identity & Taxonomy
KINGDOM: AnimaliaPHYLUM: Chordata
CLASS: Mammalia
ORDER: Artiodactyla
FAMILY: Camelidae
GENUS: Camelus (Linnaeus, 1758)
SPECIES: Camelus bactrianus, Camelus dromedarius
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| Camel |
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| Somali Breed Female with Calf |
The key diagnostic features of the camel are body length (300 cm), shoulder height (180–210 cm), tail length (50 cm) and weight (600–1000 kg). Camels have a smooth coat that is beige to light brown, with the undersides slightly lighter. Their legs are long and slender, often with calloused knees, developed from where they touch the ground when the animal is lying down. Though often called the one-humped camel, the dromedary has two humps used for energy storage in the form of fat. The under-developed anterior hump sits over the shoulders and the large rear hump is found in the center of the back. The upper lip is deeply split and the nostrils can be closed. The camel has long eyelashes to help to keep sand out of its eyes. The two broad toes on the feet are able to spread widely as an adaptation to walking on sand.
Camels used for entertainment are often subjected to abuse. Even under the best of circumstances, captivity can be hell for animals meant to roam free. Kept in small, barren cages, forced to sleep on concrete slabs, and imprisoned behind iron bars, performing animals often suffer from malnutrition, loneliness, the denial of all normal pleasures and behaviors, loss of freedom and independence, even lack of veterinary care, and filthy quarters. Attracting customers is the first consideration and the animals' welfare is often the last. Even when the mere display of the animals themselves is the "draw," the animals rarely receive proper care--and almost never the socialization and stimulation they crave.
