Camelus bactrianus

• The Bactrian camel can drink more than 100 liters of water at once. When severely dehydrated, the Bactrian camel can drink more than 100 liters in one go.
• Bactrian camels do not drink salty water, unlike dromedaries, which can drink brackish water without harm. Their need for salt is very high, so domestic camels require salt blocks.
• The Bactrian camel can eat spiny plants that no other animal can eat. Its diet includes 33 of 50 main plant species of the desert flora of Kazakhstan.
• The Bactrian camel sweats only when body temperature reaches +41 °C, which happens when further increase becomes life-threatening. At night, its temperature can drop to +34 °C.
• Camel milk contains up to 25 mg-% of vitamin C and much protein, fat, phosphorus, and calcium. It is considered beneficial and even healing due to the high content of these substances.
• The one-humped camel (dromedary) stores not water but fat in its single hump — up to 36 kg — which is used as an energy reserve, so the hump can deflate and droop.
• The Bactrian camel can be attacked by a tiger, as happened to an animal stuck in a salt marsh. The tiger bit the camel and dragged the carcass 150 paces.
• The red blood cells of the Bactrian camel are oval, so the blood maintains normal fluidity even when highly concentrated. The narrow shape allows them to pass freely through capillaries.
• The Bactrian camel spits out cud and stomach contents, not saliva. Spitting occurs during irritation and has a foul odor.
• The hairs of the Bactrian camel are hollow inside, which reduces the thermal conductivity of the fur coat. Thin underfur hairs surround each hair, retaining a lot of air.
• The Bactrian camel's fur is much longer and denser than that of the dromedary — this is one of the main features necessary for survival in severe frosts. Air temperatures in its natural habitat can drop even below −40°C.
• The Bactrian camel can survive losing up to 40% of its body water, which is twice the limit for other warm-blooded animals. The camel's kidneys can absorb a significant portion of water from urine and return it to the body.
• The Bactrian camel reaches a withers height of up to 230 cm. Individuals are known where this height exceeds 2 meters.
• Lactation in the Bactrian camel lasts about one and a half years, but milk feeding occurs only during six months. The left horn of the uterus in females is usually 8–14 cm shorter than the right — this complicates pregnancy diagnosis.
• A Bactrian camel calf at birth is much smaller than a dromedary calf, which weighs about 100 kg. The Bactrian camel shows good care for offspring, but cases when the mother abandons the calf or refuses to feed it are not uncommon.
• The offspring of the Bactrian camel stays with the mother until reaching sexual maturity. This period is longer in domestic camels than in wild ones.
• The Bactrian camel's fur has a thickness of 20–23 microns. In desert areas of the USA, camels have thicker fur and underfur — from 6 to 120 microns, with an average of 18–19 microns.
• The Bactrian camel visibly loses weight when severely dehydrated, but regains its normal appearance almost immediately upon access to water. Recovery happens quickly, without a prolonged recovery period.
• One Bactrian camel produces up to 950 kg of manure per year. The camel’s manure produces a small, even, very hot, and nearly smokeless flame.
• The Bactrian camel can interbreed with other camel species, producing viable offspring. The species are closely related.
• The Bactrian camel can carry a load of 250–300 kg, which is almost half its own body weight. On long journeys, it travels 30–40 km per day, and over 100 km under a rider.
• The female Bactrian camel also urinates on her legs and body. She does the same when she is ready to mate.
• Camel milk is fattier than cow’s milk — its fat content is no less than 5–6%. A female Bactrian camel produces a maximum of 1–2 thousand liters of milk per year, but on average only 500–600 liters, more than half during the first six months of lactation.
• A newborn Bactrian camel is able to follow its mother shortly after birth (within two hours). It weighs on average about 36 kg.
• During the rut males inflate their soft palate (dulaa) about 18 cm long — a pink sac hanging from the mouth, often mistaken for the tongue — and use it to attract females.
• The humps of a Bactrian camel may fall sideways and sway while walking if the animal is emaciated. In a well-fed camel, they stand straight and upright.
• The distance between the humps of the Bactrian camel is more than 30 cm, allowing a person to sit. The saddle area is often higher than 1.7 m.
• Red blood cells of the Bactrian camel increase in volume up to 2.5 times, storing liquid. This ability helps them survive in conditions of intense heat and lack of water.
• The Bactrian camel often fights with its neck during mating, trying to knock down the opponent. Mating males engage in fierce fights, during which they press the opponent with their neck, trying to bend them to the ground.
• The larvae of the helminth develop in the camel's stomach for a year and become sexually mature by April–May of the following year. In the stomach lining, they grow slowly before emerging into its cavity.
• The Bactrian camel in Buryatia is the northernmost representative of the camel family. In Russia, it is bred as far north as 55° N.
• A parasite can live in the body of the Bactrian camel for up to 7 years. Infection occurs through bites of biting midges.
• The Bactrian camel does not have hooves — each part of the split foot ends with a claw-like structure. The feet rest on a calloused pad.
• The Bactrian camel has fleshy and tough lips adapted to tearing thorny vegetation. Its upper lip is split, as in all camels.
• Hybrids of the dromedary and the two-humped camel have one large, slightly asymmetrical hump and are often stronger than pure forms.
• Camels can close their nostrils, have a double row of eyelashes and bushy eyebrows for protection against sand.