Camel - Simple English Wikipedia

# Camel

### From Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia written in simple English for easy reading.

A Bactrian Camel.
A Dromedary.
A Turkmen man with his dromedary, circa 1905-1915 in Turkmenistan.

Camels are mammals of the Camelidae family. Camels form the genus Camelus. There are two living species of camels. They are also callec Afro-Asiatic Camelids.

## [edit] Taxonomy and appearance

- Genus Camelus
  - Dromedary (Camelus dromedarius)
  - Bactrian Camel (Camelus bactrianus)

Dromedary camels have one hump on their back. Bactrian Camels have two humps on their back.

## [edit] Habitat

Dromedary camels originally lived in north Africa and western Asia. Bactrian Camels originally lived in eastern Asia.

## [edit] Life

Camels are very well adapted to deserts. They can store much fat in the humps on their backs, which is used up if they do not get much to eat. They can drink very much water in a short time and then they can live without drinking for a long time. If a camel has eaten and drank enough, it can live up to 30 days without food and 2 weeks without drinking.

Camels live in groups, with one male, several females, and their young children. After 360-440 days of pregnancy the female gives birth to one baby, which drinks milk for up to 1-2 years. Camels become mature when they are 3-5 years old, and they can become 40-50 years old.

## [edit] Camels and Humans

Camels have been domesticated by humans for about 5000 years. They are used for riding and to carry things, and for meat, milk and wool.

As domesticated animals they are used in Africa, Asia, and since the 19th century also in Australia. About 900-1000 wild Bactrian Camels still live in China and Mongolia. There are no wild Dromedaries anymore, but there are escaped domestic Dromedaries in Australia. Today there are about 50,000 Dromedaries living wild in the Outback in Australia.

A Dromedary and a Bactrian Camel can have hybrid children that are called Tulus or Bukhts. These hybrids are larger than the Dromedary or Bactrian Camel, and have one long hump or they have one small and one big hump.

## [edit] Links

Look up Camelus in Wikispecies, a directory of species

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Camelus

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Categories: Even-toed ungulates | Domesticated animals

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