Recently I got to visit the Columbus Zoo (in Ohio) and was confronted with the question, “What’s the difference between a camel with two humps and a camel with one hump?” I have to admit that the only type of camel I could remember was the Dromedary and I couldn’t have told you whether that was of the one-hump or the two-hump variety.
Just in case you’re wondering, I looked it up and found that the Dromedary has one hump and it’s a Bactrian camel that has two. I was surprised to learn that Bactrian camels don’t live in the deserts of Africa and the Middle East. Actually, they’re found much further north – as far north as Siberia where the temperatures can get as low as negative-20 F!
Of course there are other differences. Bactrian camels have long shaggy coats in the winter; Dromedaries have a much shorter coat. Dromedaries have padded feet that would be easily punctured if they were walking in rocky places. The wide feet of the Bactrian camel makes it easier to walk on snow and rocks.
Dromedaries have only one baby at a time while Bactrian camels have one or two. Dromedary babies depend on their mothers for one to two years; Bactrian babies aren’t completely independent until they are about five years old.
So what about you? What kind of camel are you? And, come on, do you really care?
Let’s be real for a moment. It’s Wednesday – Hump Day – and there are only two more work days left in the week.
If you want to try to figure out what kind of camel you are, have fun. Whether you do or don’t, now you’ve got a little trivial trivia to share.
And the week is almost over! What are you doing this weekend? Feel free to share it in the Safe Space on the Homepage.
Whew-HOOOOOOOO!