The Camel & The Desert

Hashem in his Kindness gave every one of his creations exactly the right “tools” to survive in their environment

A camel can travel hundreds of miles, over several days, without stopping to drink.

HOW??

Let’s start with the hump. Contrary to what you might have heard, camels do not store extra water here. The hump actually stores fat, providing energy for their long, desert trek. This fat, however, also helps to keep a camel from getting thirsty. As the fat is burned, water is produced as one of the byproducts. This extra water enters the camel’s bloodstream to add to its water supply!

Camels also conserve water by not sweating as much as we do. A camel’s metabolism lowers at night, making its body temperature much lower than a human’s. Starting with a lower body temperature means less need to sweat. Camels are also covered with heavy fur which keeps the daytime heat out. Because it’s so good at keeping its cool, WITHOUT UTILIZING WATER TO PRODUCE SWEAT a camel can travel a long way without needing to drink.

Camels are also good at maintaining their blood volume. Once we humans lose about twelve percent of our body’s water, our blood becomes too thick to work properly. A camel’s blood, however, stays more or less consistent, allowing the camel to lose up to twenty-five percent of its weight by dehydration, without needing to find water.

Another thing that helps a camel conserve water are its nasal passages. When we exhale, we loose a lot of water vapor, as any fogged up car window will prove. Camels have extra dry nasal passages which actually recondense the water out of each breath, allowing much less to escape.

The Works of Hashem Are Perfect.