How are camels able to cross deserts with barely any water? Why can’t other animals do the same?
In: Biology
They have adapted to store huge amounts of fat in humps on their backs. As they cross huge stretches of dry land they will metabolize the fat. The result from the metabolism of fat is carbon dioxide, water and energy. Along with the other improvements to conserve water and energy when walking long distances in the desert they are able to complete their journey using this extra fat. They also do not get hungry in the same way that we get hungry when we burn fat and are able to drink a lot of water at once when they do come across water and are able to regenerate the fat very quickly when the oppertunity presents itself.
The shortest answer is they have specific physical adaptations that allow them to survive for much longer periods without water than other animals.
For instance, they can survive large ranges of body temperature, they don’t sweat very much, they can survive a large body mass reduction from dehydration (up to 25% compared to 10-15% for other mammals).
They have oval-shaped blood cells that allow better flow when dehydrated and can also absorb more water without rupturing when the camel drinks.
They store water in their humps 🙂 I’m not sure if it’s water dense cells or just a type of tank, but this is what I was taught growing up.
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