The first part of this series is about the most amazing animal, so amazing that the Arabian people call them “atta Allah” a gift from God. The scientific classification for this animal is Camelus dromidarius also known as the Arabian camel.

The Arabian camel has one hump and can be used for riding, a pack animal (beast of burden) and also a draught animal.

The Arabian camel can, as a riding camel, travel up to 160 km a day. As a pack animal carry 370 kg for 60 km a day and as a draught animal pull one ton on wheels for 60 km a day.

Camels are adopted for very harsh conditions and they can travel for days with out food and water. Arab nomads use the flesh and milk of the camel as food and the hide for leather. The long camel hair shed every summer are made into carpets, ropes, and clothes.

The Arabian camel stands 2.30 m tall and weigh up to 600 kg .The Arabian camel is a desert animal. To cope in these desert conditions it has thick broad sole pads and thick calluses on the joints of the legs and on the chest (fifth foot), upon which it rests on the hot desert sand. It is also able to close its nostrils against dust and sand and its eyes are shielded by very long eyelashes.

The camels hump is just fat. The fatter the camel the bigger the camels hump. The camel stores its water mostly in its blood. The camel has got special red blood cells that can absorb water and store it for use on a later stage.

The camels at Fun Farm are used as riding animals mostly to give school children the opportunity to experience a camel ride, as pack animals to take licks to different herds of cattle and as draught animals to clean the fields of weeds.

DIRK’S TIPS ON HOW TO WORK WITH CAMELS.
• Never get angry if a camel does something wrong.
• Never hit a camel.
• If a camel does not like being patted then don’t pat it,
• Stay out of the camel’s face.
• Get used to the camel’s pace and work accordingly.
• If a camel does something wrong do it over and over again until he does it right.
• DON’T GET ANGRY and never hit a camel he will not forget it.

A camel can bite, spit, kick, run over you and even sit with its fifth foot on you, but this will only happen if you don’t treat him well.
People will even jump over a live electrical fence when a camel chases them. (Ask my wife?)
Camels are friendly, loving, hard working indeed the most amazing animal a gift from God.

If every farmer were to use working animals on their farms it would have a significant impact on global warming.