How many humps does a camel have?
There are two types of camels that the article will be talking about: Bactrian camels and one-humped dromedary (also called Arabian) camels.
Both types of camels have two humps, but they are shaped differently to store different things.
Bactrian camels store water in their humps.
Their humps are large, heavy, and full of fat, not water. Bactrian camels can go up to six days without drinking any water!
One-humped dromedary camels store fat in their humps instead of water. They use this stored fat as energy when it is needed.
How Many Humps a Camel Has
There is actually only one hump on the camel.
However, it is divided into two bunches by a thin strip of flesh.
One bunch contains fat and the other has lymph nodes.
The humps look like they have two because when the camel lowers them to drink water, they spread out so that there is room for even more liquid.
When the camel is finished drinking, it spits out whatever water was left in its mouth.
The “humps” are big and full of liquid at first, but after a while, they get smaller and go back to their normal size.
Camel humps are divided into two bunches because there is room for water or fat to be stored.
In reality, they aren’t actually double-humped, though they look like it.
When the camel needs energy, it takes fat from the hump and uses it as an extra source of energy.
Final Thoughts
The answer to today’s question is that a camel has only one hump.
The two humps are divided by a strip of flesh, so they are actually two separate sections of the same hump.
A camel uses this for storing water or fat when it needs to but doesn’t have room for both at once.
Check out our other animal FAQs here:
