camel

Nubian man with a camel in Upper Egypt. Nubians are an ethnic minority group in Egypt. Present-day Nubia is a region of southern Egypt and northern Sudan which includes the Nile valley between Aswan and Khartoum and the Nubian desert to the east. Much of Nubia was drowned by the waters of Lake Nasser, formed by the building of dams at Aswan.

The Arabian camel does not actually store water in its hump, although it can do so in the lining of its stomach. During protracted periods without water, the camel can lose up to 27% of its body weight without causing harm.

Visitors to the annual camel fair at Pushkar, Rajasthan. Every autumn, the small town is transformed by the arrival of around twenty thousand visitors, including camel traders and other merchants, holy men, and tourists, and they bring with them up to 50,000 camels.

Camel in Sinai, Egypt. Camels are well-adapted to desert conditions as they can withstand extreme weather conditions and go for long periods without drinking. There are two species of camel, the single-humped Arabian camel (pictured), and the twin-humped Bactrian camel from Asia.

Camel market in Cairo. While camels have been largely replaced by jeeps and trucks across much of Arabia, they are still bought and sold at markets in North Africa, such as this one in Cairo, and in India (where the famous Pushkar camel market and festival is now promoted as a tourist attraction).

Large cud-chewing mammal with two toes which have broad soft soles for walking on sand, and hooves resembling nails. Part of the even-toed hoofed order Artiodactyla, it is a ruminant, although it differs from most ruminants in having, only a three-chambered stomach. There are two species, the single-humped Arabian camel, or dromedary, Camelus dromedarius and the twin-humped bactrian camel C. bactrianus from Asia. They carry a food reserve of fatty tissue in the hump, can go without drinking for long periods, can feed on salty vegetation, and withstand extremes of heat and cold, thus being well adapted to desert conditions.

Smaller, flat-backed members of the camel family include the alpaca, the guanaco, the llama, and the vicuna.