Dromedary
- Dromedaries can lose up to 40% of their body fluids and quickly restore their volume. In 10 minutes, they can drink about 100 liters of water.
- A dromedary can carry loads of up to 200 kg over long distances across the desert.
- The digestion process in the dromedary resembles that of ruminants, but it does not belong to this group. The digestive system of camels apparently evolved independently of ruminants.
- Pregnancy in the dromedary lasts from 360 to 440 days, and usually one calf is born. Twins are rare.
- The dromedary’s red blood cells are oval-shaped and resist osmotic stress when it rapidly drinks large amounts of water.
- The dromedary’s body temperature can fluctuate from about 34 °C to 41 °C, helping it conserve water.
- Male dromedaries inflate their soft palate (dulaa) to attract females during the breeding season.
- Dromedaries make up roughly 90 % of the world’s entire camel population.
Age
Arabian camels, also known as dromedaries or hajeen, have a typical lifespan of from 20 to 30 years, with a maximum and theoretical lifespan of 28 years and 5 months; the species reaches sexual maturity from 3 years and 3 months to 5 years of age. The young are born with their eyes open and begin walking immediately. The embryo develops inside the mother, receiving all nutrients from her body, and the newborn dromedary drinks its mother’s milk and quickly learns to walk during the infant stage, which lasts from 1 day to 1 year and 6 months. Following this, the species enters the adult stage, lasting from 1 year and 6 months to 50 years, at which point it can reproduce and live independently.
Phenotype
The dromedary camel possesses distinctive features adapted to its environment; young dromedaries have a small hump containing fat reserves to help them survive periods of hunger, while adult Arabian camels have one large hump on their back that stores fat for energy when food is scarce. The species has long, strong legs with wide, calloused pads that allow it to walk on hot sand and conserve water, and young dromedaries have long legs with wide padded feet that prevent them from sinking into the sand. Adult Arabian camels also have a long, flexible neck to reach leaves on tall bushes, and long, thick eyelashes to protect their eyes from bright sunlight and sand. The nostrils of the species can close completely, protecting the nose from sand during storms.
Physiology
Arabian camels, also known as dromedaries or hajeen, have a body height ranging from 1.53 to 2.02 meters and a body length from 1.7 to 2 meters; their mass varies from 0.4 to 0.46 metric tons. The embryo stage has a body mass from 0 to 35 kilograms, while the young have a body mass from 35 to 150 kilograms and a body length from 80 centimeters to 1.5 meters. Adult dromedaries possess a body mass from 0.4 to 0.6 metric tons and a body length from 1.8 to 2 meters.
Habitat
The species inhabits landscapes including dry land, deserts and semi-deserts, terrestrial meadows and steppes, and scrubland; it lives at elevations up to 2 kilometers above sea level. Dromedaries occupy biomes such as temperate grasslands with abundant grass and few trees, where rain occurs, and deserts and dry shrublands which are very hot and dry with infrequent rainfall and cacti. The climate is very hot and nearly dry, very dry with infrequent rainfall, very hot and dry with daytime heat and nighttime cold, and hot with almost no precipitation.
Shelter
Arabian camels inhabit open deserts or areas with sparse trees, and the species does not have permanent or long-term shelters; instead, they use grassy areas for rest and protection from the sun. The Arabian camel lacks a fixed shelter, and the materials utilized for shelter consist only of grass.
Geography
The camel inhabits the realms of Afrotropics, Palearctics, and Australasia, preferring various ecosystems. Among its habitats are the Great Sandy Desert – Tanami, Simpson Desert, mallee scrublands of Western Australia, Pilbara shrublands, xerophytic shrublands of the Nullarbor Plain, and Narrakurte woodlands.
Feeding
The dromedary camel feeds on desert plants, consuming dry grass, leaves, and branches of bushes, even thorny ones; the species can survive long periods without water, obtaining moisture from its food. It obtains food by nipping at grass and leaves, and its diet includes grass, acacia leaves, bush branches, thorns, plant spines, prickly plants, and wood. The daily food requirement ranges from 6 kilograms to 15 kilograms. Young dromedaries consume milk. The species employs a foraging strategy of searching for and grazing on available vegetation. In some cultures, the animal is consumed, but it is not considered kosher.
Reproduction
Arabian camels inhabit and develop on land, away from bodies of water, and give birth to live young that are not hatched from eggs or spawn. The female’s embryo develops for 1 year and 1 month, and she gives birth to a single offspring. The young is born in warm weather and quickly stands, while the mother feeds it milk for several months. Gestation lasts approximately 13 months, and the female has only one offspring per litter. The species reaches maturity from 3 to 5 years of age, and the interval between reproduction cycles is from 2 to 3 years. Reproduction always occurs with fertilization, without generation changes, which is a form of homogamy.