Camel and Elephant from Nimm mich mit!

Object Details

Book Title: Nimm mich mit!
Caption: Camel and Elephant.
Educational Notes: The camel may be a desert animal today, but its origins are a bit chillier! The Camelid family has been around since ancient times, and though the modern camel only lives in the desert, its ancestors lived in much colder weather in the Arctic! As ancient camels moved south into hotter, dryer lands, they adapted, or went through the evolutionary process in which an organism becomes better suited for its habitat. Some adaptations can be seen like the camels long lashes that protect their eyes from bright sunlight, and other adaptations cant be seen like the way their metabolism has changed to help them survive if food and water isnt available. One of the camels biggest changes is their humps on their backs that store fat and provide energy when food is scarce, but this adaptation wasnt developed for camels to use in the desert. The camel hump evolved much earlier in their evolution to help them survive in the cold, which shows how useful adaptations can turn out to be!

Smithsonian Libraries

Topic: Biology; Zoology; Camels; Mammal; Dromedary camel; Hump; Energy; Evolution; Natural Selection; Adaptation; Metabolism; Ancient; Desert; Habitat