Flaubert’s Camel

Hybrid Species and Literatures: Ibrahim al-Koni's ‘Composite Apparition’

“…Now overwhelmingly serving as commodities herded to market on foot over East African deserts by often ill-equipped young men, many of whom 'lose their way in the desert and perish together with their herds', 24 camels have become a 'symbol of backwardness' for the Arab Middle East, whose governments remain actively interested in settling nomads within their region. 25 And it is from this complex, ancient-to-contemporary set of associations that al-Koni draws in order to centrally figure a more literal and lasting human-animal metamorphosis in Gold Dust.…”

Study of Camels RBCs and Elemental Analysis Using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Elemental Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) in Southern Iraq

“…Every system in the camel body has certain modification which make it better adapted to desert life than other animals (3). Camels are unique among mammals in having small elliptical and non-nucleated red blood cells (RBCs), these cells can swell to twice their underlying volume following rehydration which oppose osmotic variety without cracking (4). Among the special features of the camels which make them superior for traveling long distances and carrying heavy load, their capacity to store both energy and water to tolerate dehydration extremely well, tolerate scanty food, and have the ability to lower their resting metabolism.…”

Multiomic analysis of the Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius) kidney reveals a role for cholesterol in water conservation

“…T he one-humped Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius) is the most important livestock animal in the arid and semiarid regions of North and East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and Iran, and continues to provide basic needs to millions of people 1,2 . Thought to have been domesticated 3000-6000 years ago in the Arabian Peninsula 1,[3][4][5][6] , the camel has been used as a beast of burden, for riding and sport, and to produce milk, meat and shelter, and they are still used today for the same purposes 3,[7][8][9][10] . Indicative of its reliability in harsh environments is the existence of several breeds that have been favoured in different regions according to their intended roles, for instance; for milk, meat or wool production, or as racing animals 6,[11][12][13][14][15][16] .…”

“…Amongst Camelidae, llamas (genus Lama) and alpacas (genus Vicugna) are adapted to the high-altitude steppes of South America while dromedaries and Bactrian camels (Camelus bactrianus) occupy desert environments of the Old World 6,17 . Extensive evidence shows the impressive set of adaptations that allows the dromedary to thrive in such environments 1,3,[18][19][20] , despite sometimes needing to survive for weeks without access to water. Altogether, these behavioural and physiological adaptations ensure that water is never wasted.…”

“…Altogether, these behavioural and physiological adaptations ensure that water is never wasted. Dromedaries solely eat the leaves of plants 21 , avoid exposure to direct sunlight when possible 8,22 , restrict reproduction to the cooler winter season 3,23 , and drink very large amounts of water when available to compensate for pre-existing fluid deficiency 3,8,[24][25][26][27] . Further, drinking water is slowly absorbed to avoid osmotic shock 28 .…”