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May 22, 2006 - Terry Rawles, Bronte, TX
We are a second grade class in Bronte, Texas. Tammy T., who was with
you this weekend has a daughter in my class.
We have been looking at the website and reading the journal entries.
Some of the kids have a few questions. Do camels spit? And if so,
why? What exactly is the hump of the camel made of? Does the hump
shrink in size as the camel works or walks?
Thank you,
Terri Rawls
Bronte Elementary
Terri, first let me way thanks for taking the time to include our
Sesquicentennial Camel Drive as a part of your classroom's learning
experience.
Technically speaking, camels don't spit. They do, however,
regurgitate their cud (camels are ruminants like cattle) when nervous
or scared. Generally speaking, you've got to get a camel pretty mad
before you see this and we live and work with camels and rarely ever
see it.
As for the hump. Consider us the "Myth Buster" of the camel world.
It's not water as some old legends would have you believe, it's fat.
This fat reserve is drawn upon to sustain camels in times of need.
The hump (or humps, in the case of the 2-humped Bactrian camel) will
shrink if the camel is working quite a bit and not replenishing the
fat.
Thanks for the questions and let Tammy's daughter know that we sure
enjoyed spending time with her mommy on the Camel Drive.
Doug Baum
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