A camel is an amazing animal, one of the most unusual on Earth. He lives only in deserts, so his body can retain water for a long time. The camel feeds on a plant named after him - a camel thorn.
Camel - ship of the desert
In nature, there are two types of camels: one-humped and two-humped. Only the second one lives in the wild, while people have long tamed the one-humped camel for their needs. The camel's body can retain water for a long time and not overheat in 50-degree heat. Huge calluses on its feet allow this animal to walk calmly on the hot sand.
A camel can do without a single sip of water for up to two weeks. It is covered with a thick coat that prevents moisture from evaporating from the skin. The surface of the wool at noon can heat up to 80 degrees, while on the surface of the skin the temperature will not be higher than 40 degrees. The camel does not open his mouth when he breathes so that excess moisture does not evaporate. This animal cannot exist in an area with a humid climate.
In the camel's body, fats are able to turn into water, which is deposited in the humps. It can contain up to 50 kg of fresh water. He can spend it within two weeks. People lost in the desert often killed a camel and drank water from its hump in order to survive and get to the oasis.
When traveling, the camel replenishes its water reserves by feeding on camel thorns. This plant is fully consistent with its name. It is covered with many sharp spines of various sizes, which are modified axillary shoots. A camel can feed on such a plant due to the special structure of its oral cavity. The inner side of the cheeks is equipped with many hard tubercles, protrusions that are not damaged even by the sharpest spines. In addition, he has a very rough and rough tongue.
Camelthorn plant
This plant is found only in deserts and semi-deserts. It belongs to the legume family. Camel thorn is a low shrub with a powerful root. Thanks to him, the plant can absorb moisture from the deep layers of the soil and not die in the harsh desert conditions.
Camel thorn, in addition to life-giving moisture, also contains a lot of useful substances. It was not for nothing that Avicenna considered her to be a real storehouse of vitamins. Tincture from this plant helps relieve fatigue and detoxifies the body. Camel thorn secretes a special substance - manna, which is a substitute for sugar. It is a powerful diuretic and choleretic agent. Perhaps it was her God sent to Moses and the Jews who fled from the oppression of the Egyptian Pharaoh.
