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:
They sure are strange creatures thats for sure.
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.
It's a good thing camels like to rest on the ground. It would be hard to mount them if they were standing up.
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.
Fell off my camel, or rather slid down his very dusty prickly coat, was not popular!
Great pictures!
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!
Rudyard Kipling gets my vote, any day...
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.
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.
@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.
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.
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!
well, that was fun!!
:)~
HUGZ
Will they take one hump or two? Nice camel-pialation of these ships of the desert.
Great assembly. But I don't believe there is any geographic location where Dromedary and Bactrian Camels could meet nose to nose.
Mike, I agree, The picture was by an artist.
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.
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