The camel is a super animal. Though big and ungainly looking, the camel is designed to survive some of the harshest conditions on the planet. They thrive with little water, can eat what other animals won't, deal with both burning hot and freezing cold temperatures, and have learned to live with humans.

Camels and Water

Camels can go without drinking water longer than any other domestic animal. How long they can go depends on a number of factors: their food supply, daytime temperature, nighttime temperature, wind, and whether they are working or resting. In the Sahara, camels go for 6-7 months without drinking water. This doesn't mean they don't need water. They get sufficient moisture from the plant material they eat. As the temperature goes up, camels need to drink more often. At 86-95 degrees F (30-35 C), camels can go for 10-15 days without water. When the temperature reaches 104 degrees F (40 degrees C) and above, camels need more frequent watering. Some breeds of camels can go without water for 7-8 days in the heat of the summer. In Mauritania where the temperatures reach 118 degrees F (48 degrees C) during the day and 86 degrees F (30 degrees C) at night, camels drink every five days, but have gone as long as ten days without water.

Camels handle dehydration well. A camel can lose up to 40% of its weight in water before it is in trouble. A human who loses 12% of his body weight in water is dead. One of the things that enables a camel to do this may be due to their blood. The elliptical, or football-like, shape of a camel's blood cells allow them to pass by one another even when their blood gets thicker with dehydration. A human's rounder blood cells are more likely to get caught in bloodstream traffic jams.

So let's say you and your camel are dehydrated after days in the desert. If you are in a chugging contest with a camel, you will lose. A camel can drink 28 gallons (106 liters) of water at one time. Imagine sitting down and drinking the amount of liquid contained in 56 cartons of milk. Camels have been known to drink 45 gallons (170 liters) in one 24 hour period. That's more than twice the liquid that a standard car gas tank holds. And they drink at a rate of 2.5-7 gallons/minute (10-27 liters/minute).

People unfamiliar with camels once believed you could get water from a camel's hump. This myth persisted up until 1950. It's thought that the story got started when desperate travelers killed a camel and drank the greenish fluid out of the animal's stomach. This liquid is not exactly water, but as the story got passed down, the place where they got the liquid moved up. Eventually, people who knew little about camels were saying that water was stored in the hump, but this isn't true. The hump is mostly fat. Water is distributed throughout the cells of a camel's body.

Camels and Temperature

Desert camels are used to going from high daytime temperatures above 100 degrees F (38 degrees C) to below freezing at night. They have a variety of adaptations that allow them to do this. For example, they are built like a stilt house with their long legs. These legs give them distance from the ground. The ground absorbs heat during the day, and the further you are from the ground, especially in the desert, the lower the temperature. This also enables air to circulate freely under a camel. A camel can tolerate a body temperature of 107 degrees F (42 degrees C) with no ill effects. A human will only live a short time when their body reaches 103 degrees F (39 degrees C).

When it comes to cold, Gary Jackson of the Nevada Camel Company says that camel's coats are so well insulated that, when there is a snowfall, snow sits on a camel's coat without melting.

Speed, Distance, Strength, and Endurance

In the country of Qatar, camel racing is as popular as horse racing is in the United States. According to CNN, camels can reach speeds of 40 m.p.h. (64 km/hr).

Not only are they fast, camels are also good weight-lifters. In Australia, the record load carried by a camel was 1,907 lbs (865 kg) In 1883, camels loaded with 770 lb. (349 kg) packs carried their loads 278 miles (447 km) in 16 days. Hilde Gauthier-Pilters, a camel researcher, hired camels for four weeks covering 19 miles/day (30 Km/day), six hours/day carrying 265 lbs (120 kg each).

Camel Eyes, Ears, and Noses

Camels have good eyesight and can see well in the daytime and at night. This night vision is important for an animal that might have to move at night, when it is cooler, to reach a watering hole in the desert that is many days away. Even with their eyes closed, camels can see. The eyelid is translucent, which enables a camel to see well enough to keep walking in a sandstorm. Thick eyelashes also help keep blowing dust out of the camel's eye.

You could say that camels are designed for dust. The ears of a camel are filled with hairs to keep out dust. Then there are the long narrow slitted nostrils of a camel which are packed with hairs to filter out particles. When it gets really dusty, the nostrils can be shut down like a clam closing its shell.

Camel Teeth

If you are around camels, you will hear a squeaking sound. This is especially noticeable when you are around a male camel who is interested in female camels. On closer inspection, you will notice that the squeaking comes from the camel grinding his teeth together. If your mother has told you not to grind your teeth because it is bad for you, you might wonder how the camel gets away with this habit. It turns out that a camel's teeth grow throughout their lifetime. Camels require constant grinding to keep their teeth a reasonable length. Chewing is a camel's passion and they have even been known to eat the bones from skeletons so they can get a really good grinding action going.

Halfway back in a camel's mouth, you will find their fighting teeth. These are sharp, sometimes jagged teeth on either side of the jaw. Camels use these teeth to deliver a nasty bite to an opponent.

Camel Life Span

Camels can live up to 40 years.