This month, Bindi shows off her favourite camel.
Pick up a copy of the October issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly to read more about camels and see below for information on how to ask Bindi your most pressing wildlife questions.
What has three stomachs, one hump or two and can survive for 20 days without water? A camel, writes Bindi Irwin.
My favourite part of a camel is its hump. At Australia Zoo, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, we have Teela, our dromedary or one-humped camel. She’s a darling. Dromedary camels are found in the deserts of Australia, the Middle East and Africa, but Australia is the only country where wild herds still roam – we have about 80,000 to 200,000 of them in Australia. These gorgeous animals are useful to our country. They play a role in our tourism industry and are exported to help improve breeding overseas. Camels have been helping us since they were brought here in 1840. Our first explorers relied on them to explore the desert. Camels also helped deliver goods to the outback, where cars or horses couldn’t go. The famous Ghan train, which goes from Adelaide to Darwin, is named after the Afghan camel trains that provided this important service.
Camels are the perfect desert animal – their big, leathery feet prevent them from sinking into the sand and they can close their nostrils to keep out the sand. The camel’s hump stores fat, which gives them energy and water when food is scarce.
Camels in the wild eat whatever is available, such as grasses, shrubs and trees, and because they mostly feed on the move and have broad, soft feet, they have minimal impact on our native vegetation, even in drought conditions.
If you come to Australia Zoo, Teela may greet you with a big smooch. She has fun on our zoo promotional days: on Mother’s Day, she’s part of our Kiss the Critter competition and on Valentine’s Day, she enjoys the Animal Magnetism contest.
Here are five interesting facts you may not have known about camels.
A dehydrated camel can drink 200 litres in 10 minutes. That’s 20 litres in 1 minute.
Teela never gets dehydrated, but enjoys the treats visitors give her at Australia Zoo.
When camels are distressed or angry, they spit. This is actually vomit. Teela has never done this. We make sure she’s always happy and contented.
Camels have three stomachs and 60 metres of intestines. This enables them to extract the most nutrients from it. Teela loves eating fig branches and passionfruit.
Camels store water in their red blood cells.They can swell up to as much as 240 per cent of their normal size to absorb lots of water.Got a question for Bindi? Post it to Ask Bindi, The Australian Women’s Weekly, GPO Box 4178, Sydney, NSW 2001 or email [email protected].Bindi’s new television show, Bindi: The Jungle Girl, can be seen on ABC TV on Wednesdays at 4.05pm.
Got a question for Bindi? Post it to Ask Bindi, The Australian Women’s Weekly, GPO Box 4178, Sydney, NSW 2001 or email [email protected].
Bindi’s new television show, Bindi: The Jungle Girl, can be seen on ABC TV on Wednesdays at 4.05pm.
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