Camel or Dromedary - What’s the Difference?
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Summary
This table shows you the most important differences at a glance.
| Species | Characteristic |
|---|---|
| Dromedary | One hump |
| Bactrian Camel | Two humps |
| Guanaco | No humps |
| Llama | No humps |
| Vicuña | No humps |
| Alpaca | No humps |
And finally, more exciting info:
How Can these Animals Drink so Much so Fast?
When camels haven’t drunk in a long time, they take up a lot of water very quickly. They store some of it in their stomach. If they weren’t able to do this, they would suffer from “water poisoning” and could even die. Their kidneys cannot deal with so much water at one time and this would cause a disruption to the body’s sensitive and important “water-electrolyte balance” (the balance of water and minerals in the body).
Bactrian Camel - Photo: aleksandr hunta/Shutterstock
