Do Camels Spit? Completely Crazy Camel Adaptations Explained

Camels are popularly known as the ship of the desert across the world, because of their excellent adaptation for surviving in arid, desert zones, which allows them to live a life of anywhere between 7-17 years.

Camels are mammals that have two different types of species, Camelus bactrianus, and Camelus dromedarius. The difference between these two species is visible in their humps, dromedary camels have one hump, while Bactrian camels have two humps on their back.

Some amazing camel facts include, dromedary camels can grow up to a size of 7-11 ft (2.1-3.3 m), while the Bactrian camel can reach up to 10-12 ft (3-3.6 m) in height.

Camels can carry up to 198.4 lb (90 kg) of weight at a time and walk for a whole day in the sand carrying it. That is why these herd animals are known as the ship of the desert, as humans have domesticated camels for thousands of years to help us carry heavy supplies across desert regions.

Camels can survive for days on end without food or water and can drink up to 32 gal (121.1 L) of water in one go.

Camels are herd animals who stay in a group in which males generally lead the group, followed by females and their calves. All the dromedary camels, the camels with one hump, have been domesticated by humans, and there are no wild species left of this camel.

The Bactrian camel exists in both wild and domesticated forms. Humans use camels to carry their heavy goods, for wool, milk, leather, and even for their dung.

Humps in camels do not store water, instead, their humps are made up of fat and cartilage. The hump will decrease in size as the camel uses the stored fat.

There is one interesting defense mechanism that a camel uses to protect itself if it senses danger in the world, which is spitting.

After reading these interesting fun facts about Bactrian and dromedary camels, learn more about why do llamas spit and what do bears eat?

Do camels really spit at people when they are threatened or provoked?

Every animal has their own defense mechanisms, which have developed over time. The ones which were effective were passed on genetically to the next generation, which survived. Likewise, camels have a very weird and interesting defense mechanism wherein they can spit, or more aptly put, regurgitate the substances from their stomach on someone who the camel feels threatened by.

Camels are very docile animals and rarely turn towards violent behavior. But sometimes if these herd animals feel threatened or endangered, camels can regurgitate the food, bile, saliva, and water from their stomach and spray their attacker’s body with that gross liquid. Nobody knows how camels came to use this technique, but it works.

Camels are animals who ruminate their food, just like cows, wherein they can regurgitate their food from the stomach to chew on it again, which helps them digest the food properly.

Sometimes, if they have drunk a lot of water or had a lot of food recently, this food can come up to drench their attacker, or whatever person or animal makes them feel endangered.

Both Bactrian camels, as well as dromedary camels, are known for using this method to deflect danger.

How to know if a camel is going to spit?

A camel’s mouth is made of two sets of lips, one lower and one upper, and both the lips can move independently while the camel is chewing on its food. Camels have two rows of flat teeth, which help them pick on grass and tear apart any thorny shrubs or thick brambles.

When a camel is about to spit, one can notice its cheeks and mouth bulging up before it projects the contents of its stomach at someone. This happens because the camel uses a certain force to bring up its food or water, which makes its mouth bulge a certain way.

Camels can drink up to 40 gal (151.4 L) of water in a day.

What is the distance a camel can spit?

A lot of people might not know, but the longest recorded distance a camel has spat is a whopping 121.4 ft (37 m)! So, beware before crossing any camel or provoking it!

Camels are social animals who prefer to live in herds. They are herbivorous animals, who survive on plants and grass.

They have two sets of lips that move independently, unlike most animals, and a set of flat, sharp teeth, which is adapted to tear stubborn weeds and grass and chomp on thorny shrubs, which are usually found in the desert and arid regions.

Camels have huge stomachs that can store huge quantities of food and water at once, which can help them sustain for several days or weeks.

Camels ruminate their food to break it down and gain every possible amount of energy that they can from it. The extra energy is stored in the form of fats in a camel’s hump, which helps the camel sustain on an empty stomach for weeks.

The strong legs of the camels allow them to cover great distances in a day.

What does camel spit smell like?

When any camel, whether a Bactrian camel or a dromedary camel spits or vomits, this thick mixture contains its saliva, digestive juices like various acids and bile, water, and possibly half-digested food content. The saliva is called cud and the color will depend on what it has been eating in its diet.

Most of these juices like bile have a very vile smell, which can be smelled predominantly on the camel spit or camel vomit. Other than that, the vomit has an extremely nauseating stench, which is best to be cleaned as quickly as possible.

A camel’s hooves are especially adapted in a way that makes them easy to walk on the sand without getting stuck in it.

These hooves spread on the sand when pressure is applied, hence, it prevents the legs or hooves of camels from getting pulled and stuck in the sand. The adult camels can travel for miles on end without a break, and carry a weight of almost 200 lb (90.7 kg) each.

Both the Bactrian camel and dromedary camel are excellent at carrying heavyweight and sustaining without food or water for days.

Due to all of these qualities that have evolved within the camels, lets them survive in harsh, hot conditions while helping humans transport goods or carry the humans themselves to various places through the desert, they are rightly known as the ship of the desert.

How do I wash camel spit off of me?

If ever you have the miserable luck of a camel spitting on you, the disgusting goop and the smell can be a little difficult to get off.

Washing it in a lot of water, with abundant soap and smell dispensers can work to make you clean and to get rid of the smell as well.

There are two species of camels, called the Bactrian camel and dromedary camel. The difference between these two species is easy to understand and is visible on their body.

A Bactrian camel has two humps or is double-humped, while a dromedary camel has a single-humped body.

The function of these humps is to store fats that have been generated from the food, which the camel eats. These fats are stored by the body for future use, especially when the camels have to travel through the desert without getting any adequate sources of food or water.

Contrary to popular myth, these humps are not responsible for storing water. When the fat content reduces in these humps due to their use for keeping the body healthy, the skin slumps down from the hump, until it can grow again after eating a large amount of food.

Hence, camels can survive in desert, hot, and arid regions without food or water for weeks on end due to their humps, which act as the storage ground for the energy which they need to survive in the desert.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for do camels spit, then why not take a look at how long can a camel go without water or camel facts?