| Camels (Latin - Camelus) are mammals of the even-toed ungulates suborder. Camels are big animals, adapted for life in deserts.
Two types of camels exist:
* Bactrian or two humped camels (C. bactrianus);
* The Dromedary or single hump camel (C. dromedarius)
Both types of camels were domesticated more than 5000 years ago. Wild populations of camels remained in the Gobi desert and were found by N. M. Przhevalsky. Presently, the question about the acclimatization of wild two-humped camels is studied in a Park in Yakutia. However, wild camels are very rare in present times. Domesticated camels are used mostly as pack and drought animals. In some arid regions of North America and Australia, these animals were set free and these animals became perfectly accustomed to their surroundings and bred.
The Latin name Camelus originates from the Greek κάμηλος to the general Semitic “Camel” (Arab. جَمَل, ивр. גמל).
The weight of an adult camel is somewhere between 500 to 800 kg and the reproductive age starts from 2-3 years. Camels can live up to 20 years.
These mammals are well adapted for life in severe, waterless regions. Their dense fur is meant for protection against the day heat and night cold. The wide two-fingered (didactyle) foot is helpful in walking on loose sand or small stones. Camels do not sweat and lose a small quantity of liquid with feces. Water vapor, secreted from the nostrils during respiration, gathers in a special fold and returns back to the mouth. A camel can stay without water for long periods, thus losing up to 40 percent of the body weight. After reaching water, to compensate the liquid loss, camels can drink 57 liters at a single go. One of specific adaptations of a camel for life in deserts is its humps. These are fatty depositions, which can serve in extreme cases, as sources of water. Camels are able to survive without water for about two weeks and without food for about one month.
The ability of camels to swim is surprising since the majority of them must not have seen large water reservoirs.
The alpaca, llama, guanaco and vicuna also belong to the family Camelidae. The alpaca and llama are domesticated animals, which are bred for the sake of their wool.
The camel symbolizes, first of all, endurance. The camel is a symbol of the programming language Perl.
The camel was used on the coat of arms of the Isetsky province and presently, the camel is used on the arms and flags of the Chelyabinsk (single-humped) and the Chelyabinsk region (two-humped). In the “Book of laws of the Russian empire” for 1830, the following explanation is given: “The loaded camel is a sign, that many people bring enough goods on camels into the city”. Thus, the camel symbolized the trade on which the city lived at that time.
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