Long-tailed Camel

The reliant carrier of the deserts

In the inhospitable desert life can seem harsh to people accustomed to more lively climates. But if you dare to brace the hot days and the cold nights, and manage to get invited to a campsite you will soon see that life in the desert is more like the life you're used to. Around the fire people sit down after a long day of travelling across the lands and share a meal together. There is music and laughter. And just outside the tents lies another life: the huge long-tailed camels that is the sole reason these people can continue their nomadic lifestyle.

Basic Information

Anatomy

The long-tailed camel is a hoofed animal that is especially adapted to life in the desert thanks to its two big humps on its back that carry fat and water, meaning that they are able to drink when they're able to and then store it for a long time. The body is quite oblong with the long neck and tail balancing each other. This gives the camel a great balance and stability, even in harsh desert storms.

Ecology and Habitats

The camel is supremely adapted to the deserts and steppes surrounding it. They have thick fur that insulate them to both the heat and the cold, and the fat that is stored in their humps further help them regulate their temperature. The humps also help them travel great distances without having to worry about finding water. This means they are not as restricted in how far they can go. Humans have greatly taken advantage of this. Thanks to this the habitat of the camels have increased into the regions around the desert as people want to bring their trusty companions with them as they travel.

Dietary Needs and Habits

As a herbivore, the camel's diet consists mostly of the different kinds of grass and plants it can find in the desert, it is quite adapt at eating and ingesting even the hardy plants that survive here.

Additional Information

Domestication

The camel has been domesticated a very long time, with a lot of scientist now believing that it may have been one of the first animals to be domesticated at all. Today they are rarely captured in the wild but rather bred and thus brought up getting tamed from the beginning. A wild camel is useless to people so it's often common to let children play with young camels to socialise them, and overall camels live very close to their humans at all times.
In truth there are very few truly wild camels left as the people of the desert see all camels as belonging to the people of that area and if you dare try and take a camel in the wild you can be sure someone will come after you. It is very hard to know which camels aren't tamed and which ones are just out there breeding for now.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Camels are used in a variety of ways by the people in the deserts. Though foremost a packing and riding animal, they are also used for their milk and meat in cooking, and their fur is used for warm clothing and tents.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

The deserts and steppes of Regerwa.

Lifespan

20 years

Conservation Status

Thriving.

Average Height

1.5 meters including the humps

Average Weight

700 kg

Average Length

4.5 meters including tail and neck

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

To match their surroundings, camels are generally patchy in yellow, brown and beige tones, with some getting almost black or white in places. Both albinism and melanism exists as well where the whole body is the same white or black colour. These animals rarely survive in the wild at all.