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Thursday 14 April 2011

A Horse Designed By A Committee

Sir Alec Issigonis, the designer of the Mini, is said to have described a camel as a horse designed by a committee. But if you ever want to see an animal designed for its surroundings look no further than the camel and it doesn't matter whether you like one hump or two:

Dromedary and Bactrian Camels

The Camel's hump is an ugly lump
Which well you may see at the Zoo;
But uglier yet is the hump we get
From having too little to do.
(Ruyard Kipling)

Resting camels - they are good at this.



This is an environment in which they thrive:

 
Imagine being behind a caravan this long on a motorway.


On holidays they have their uses, even if some of their load is overweight.

 
A few words of warning - never attempt to kiss a camel
 
 
Kissing Camels red rocks from inside the Garden of the Gods park in Colorado Springs. 
By Beverly Lussier (cc-by-3.0)
Learn more about camels at Alan's Sepia Saturday 70

18 comments:

Unknown said...

They sure are strange creatures thats for sure.

Bish Denham said...

Just down the road from us here in Texas, is Camp Verde, a fort where the U. S. Army established its Camel Corp. Camels were shipped all the way from Syria, Turkey and Egypt to the Texas coast. It was an experiment to see if camels would work for transport and exploration across the desert southwest. Although it only lasted 10 years and the Civil War got it the way, the camels were a huge success. They helped map out a middle route to California which later became known as Route 66. They were also used to explore and map Big Bend and the Mojave Desert.

A few years back the 150th anniversary of the camels arriving at Camp Verde was re-enacted. and the camels came back. It was a real honor to be there and get up and close and personal with these wonderful animals.

Postcardy said...

It's a good thing camels like to rest on the ground. It would be hard to mount them if they were standing up.

Bob Scotney said...

Bish, thanks for adding the information about Camp Verde.I'd heard of camel corps during the WWII but would never have picked up on this.

Unknown said...

Fell off my camel, or rather slid down his very dusty prickly coat, was not popular!

Howard said...

Great pictures!

21 Wits said...

How cool...this is quite interesting....we have camels in various places here to ride as well...and elephants...which can be even worse to try and kiss! Great Sepia post! Thanks...really enjoyed the pictures too!

Jinksy said...

Rudyard Kipling gets my vote, any day...

Leovi said...

Your post is very interesting and fun, I ride a camel once, but above all the hump, eat and be a horse, and saw the high ground. That fear went through. Greetings.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy said...

Hi Bob,

This is great! Thanks for the camel lessons. Why do some have 2 humps and others have only one, I wonder?

Happy SS, and thanks so much for stopping by to visit me!

Kathy M.

Anonymous said...

@Bish, I live on the other end of that trail, sort of. Fort Tejon, in north Southern California is one of the last stops on the camel trail. I visited the fort a couple years back (for a Civil War history event) and the rangers all talk about the camels.

Alan Burnett said...

It's a kind of camel medley : all the best bits brought together to make the post a pleasure to look at and a joy to read.

Unknown said...

Bob, those lines are very familiar to me and the way I often refered to the multitude of committees and "teams" in my career days. My Uncle John recited that Rudyard Kipling poem when he told about the Irwin Camel...I should edit that into my camel post!

Bruno Laliberté said...

well, that was fun!!
:)~
HUGZ

MuseSwings said...

Will they take one hump or two? Nice camel-pialation of these ships of the desert.

Mike Brubaker said...

Great assembly. But I don't believe there is any geographic location where Dromedary and Bactrian Camels could meet nose to nose.

Bob Scotney said...

Mike, I agree, The picture was by an artist.

Nancy said...

Good advice not to kiss a camel. I can add to that: stand at least 10 feet away from the front of a camel! Fun post.