Camels

There are two kinds of camels. They live in the desert. There are many wild camels in the Australian desert as well.
 * A camel with one hump is called a dromedary. They live in the Middle East.
 * A camel with two humps is called a Bactrian camel. They live in Central Asia.

Camels have thick coats to protect them from the heat and sun. They have long eyelashes and ear hairs to keep the sand out. They don't sink into the sand because they have wide feet.

Camels can survive in the desert because they can go a long time without water. They eat green plants, fruit, dates, wheat, salt bushes, thorns, oats and sometimes fish. They have tough mouths so that they can eat plants with thorns without hurting themselves.

People use them for milk and meat, and for carrying things. Camels attack and defend by biting and kicking. Sometimes they lie down on top of their enemy to squash it.

In Africa, lions and leopards prey on camels. In Asia, wolves and leopards attack them. Their main predators are people who kill them and eat them for food.

Even though armies have modern transport, camels are sometimes still used in war. They are used in places like deserts and wild, rocky places where there are no roads.
 * CAMELS IN WAR**

HOW CAMELS ARE USED FOR TRANSPORT IN WAR
They are used to carry things, and for soldiers to ride when they are spying on the enemy and checking out places for danger. In World War I camels carried supplies from the ships to the camps. They were also used as ambulances to carry injured soldiers to the field hospital or the first aid tent. Camels also delivered letters from home to the soldiers at the war zone.

Check out page 41 of //M is for Mates// to see camels used as ambulances and to carry equipment from the ships.

HOW MANY CAMELS WERE USED IN WAR?
In World War I camels were used by the Imperial Camel Corps from Jan 1916 to May 1919. There were four battalions made up of Australian, New Zealand and Indian soldiers. The 1st and 3rd Battalions were Australian soldiers, 2nd Battalion were New Zealand soldiers and the 4th Battalion were Indian soldiers. In total there were 4,150 men and 4,800 camels.*

See some photos of camels being used in war.

Pack animals carrying equipment


 * Thanks to Tracey for assisting with research for this page!

Sources for this page include
 * //M is for Mates// by the Department of Veterans' Affairs 2009, pages 33 (P is for Persuasion), pages 40-41 (T is for Transport)
 * //Wikipedia/Camels//