I'm so excited I could just squeal!!
We just got back from the camel farm!
That's me with a 1 week old baby.
The baby camel's coat is extremely soft and curly...this little gal stil had a piece of dried umbilical cord attached to her belly.
She was very affectionate. Hubs thought she was like a cat...she'd lean against you and rub all over you.
The babies keep this color coat until they are about a month old. They nurse for siz months and then are weaned.
Truthfully, I was a little hesitant about walking in here with the moms and babies...there were two moms and two calves. I lived on a farm as a kid and was nearly squashed by a mama cow. (I really wanted to see her new calf.) I learned my lesson. (To escape being trampled, I scaled this fence - amazingly fast - and when I jumped, I landed on a board with nails in it...yeah, not so good, but better than being crunched by an angry cow.)
Here's a picture of mama and baby.
Our guide said they have about 450 camels on the farm - and they are not used for racing or meat, and they are not for sale. Basically, it's a preserve.
These are dromedary camels.
They keep the males separate from the females, and they also separate them by age until they are adults. (Adulthood is at about 5 or 6 years old.)
They also separate the studs and the females that are ready for breeding.
This female was in the "ready to breed" pen. When she saw us walk in with the guide. She came right over...very friendly camel.
I asked about this "friendly" behavior because one of my best friends is Egyptain and can't stand camels. She says they're mean and the spit. Although none of these spit while I was there, the guide said that they will.
The camel's gestation period is 1 year!!!
Now to geek out on you a bit...what fascinated me was how well they are adapted to the environment. Their nostrils stay closed - much like how a seal's close automatically when they dive. I read that this feature also enables them to retain moisture that would otherwise be lost.
The adult camel's coat is wiry and the hair is course. I've read in an uncited article at wikipedia, that "evaporation of their sweat takes place at the skin level, not at the surface of their coat, thereby being very efficient at cooling the body compared to the amount of water lost through sweating. This ability to fluctuate body temperature and the efficiency of their sweating allows them to preserve about five litres of water a day."
They also have amazingly long and thick eyelashes!! Ladies, we should all be jealous! I'd buy stock in a mascara that could do this for the lashes. (The best mascara I've found so far - and my favorite, by the way - is Dior Show by Christian Dior...just FYI.)
Every creature is amazingly made and perfectly adapted to live in its environment! Check out the "camel visine". It seems that their eyes have a natural flushing mechanism. I'm wishing I had those lashes after getting sand in my eyes a few times here...ouch. Here's one last shot of the baby camel...she came up and laid her head on my shoulder...awwwww. I can't tell you how soft her fur is!! I'd post the location, but I left the map in the car. The camel farm isn't on the map I have, but with the map, I could better give the directions...just in case anyone plans on dropping by Bahrain. I know it's located in Janabiya...right across from Venice Gardens, a residential area. There's also a large date farm on the properry which you can see from the highway that takes you to Al Jasra Craft Center. There's no signage that I saw. We knew the general area and saw the camels through a gate as we were stopped at the stop light. A straighter route than we took would have been to take the highway like you're going to Al Jasra craft center. You take the exit going to Budaya...you go right instead of left at that exit (if you're headed toward Saudi.) There was no admission fee, although we did tip the gentleman that escorted us around the farm. This is a great nostril shot, too.
I'll post the rest of the pictures in an album on the right.
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