Can a Camel Live in the Arctic?

Can a Camel Live in

the Arctic?

By Kate Wilkinson-Brindle
Illustrated by Jason Henderson

Classification

A camel is an animal with a backbone, so camels are
vertebrates. They are also mammals. All mammals, except
for the duck-billed platypus and the spiny anteater, give
birth to live babies which then feed on their mother’s milk.
Mammals maintain a constant body temperature even if
the temperature of their surroundings changes. This is
known as being warm-blooded. All mammals have hair
or fur at some point in their lives.

Camels belong to the order of mammals called
Artiodactyla, which means even-toed.

Camel head by Keven Law (flickr), camel’s toe by 3268zauber (wikimedia commons)

Types of Camels ddrroommeeddaarrieiess
aaBBaaccttrriaiannccaammeell
The Arabian camel is also known as a dromedary
(Camelus dromedarius). A dromedary has one
hump on its back. It is a domesticated camel.

The domesticated Bactrian camel (Camelus
bactrianus) and the endangered wild Bactrian
camel (Camelus ferus) both have two humps.

A handy hint for identifying camels is to remember
that a dromedary has one hump – like a capital
letter D lying down. A Bactrian camel has two
humps – like a capital letter B lying down.

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Camel Habitats

Dromedaries are found in the hot deserts of North Africa, the Middle East

and Central Asia. People keep dromedaries for transport and also for their

milk and meat. Dromedaries were mmaapp ttoo sshhooww tthhee hhaabbiittaattss ooff ddrroommeeddaarryy
taken to Australia in the 1860s, and aanndd BBaaccttrriiaann ccaammeellss
now there is a large population of

dromedaries roaming free in

the outback.

Bactrian camels live in the rocky

deserts of Mongolia and China.

These deserts can be both extremely

hot and freezing cold, so Bactrian ddrroommeeddaarryy BBaaccttrriiaann
camels grow thick, shaggy coats in

winter that they shed in the hot summer months.

Camel Adaptations

Camels have many adaptations for living
in the deserts:
• Camels can survive for up to 7 months

without drinking.
• When they find water, camels can drink

large amounts in minutes and rehydrate
very quickly.
• Camels store fat in their humps when food is plentiful, and then they break
that fat down for energy and water if needed.
• Their feet have two large toes that spread apart to stop them from sinking
in soft sand.
• Camels have two rows of heavy eyelashes and a third, clear eyelid to protect
their eyes from blown sand and dust.
• Camels have tough lips so that they can eat prickly or thorny desert plants.

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Could a Camel Live in the Arctic?

Dromedaries are adapted to hotter climates, so they would be unlikely to
survive for even a few days in the Arctic. But with their thick winter coats,
Bactrian camels are adapted for living in cold desert conditions, and they
could probably survive a month’s holiday in the Arctic! However, Arctic
vegetation is buried under the snow for most of the year, so there wouldn’t
be enough food for a camel to live in the Arctic permanently.

FFoossssiillss ooff aa 33..55 mmiilllliioonn yyeeaarr oolldd
ggiiaanntt ccaammeell ssppeecciieess hhaavvee
aaccttuuaallllyy bbeeeenn ffoouunndd iinn tthhee
AArrccttiicc cciirrccllee,, bbuutt tthhee cclliimmaattee iinn
tthhee AArrccttiicc wwaass pprroobbaabbllyy wwaarrmmeerr
tthheenn tthhaann iitt iiss ttooddaayy..

Curious Camel Facts

• Despite their humps, camel spines are
surprisingly straight.

• The gestation period for a dromedary is 15 months.
• Baby camels can be white at birth, but they often

change colour as they grow older.
• Bactrian camels are good swimmers.
• In the United Arab Emirates, camel beauty

contests are held!
• In Kenya, there is a camel mobile library. Camels transport books to hard to

reach communities.
• Camels can be very loud! They make a wide variety of groans and

bellowing noises.
• A wild Bactrian camel can survive by drinking salty water if necessary.

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