Tomorrow’s Toddlers’ church session is focused on camels (we’re going through a season of different animals every week). I’m leading the session so tonight I’ve been doing some research, which probably will go over the heads of many of the toddlers (our group has a low average age for that segment at the moment) but might amuse and inform those who bring them along.

There are three types of camel in the world. Most are dromedary camels, with one hump. The type of camel with two humps are called Bactrian camels and there are a small number of ‘Wild Bactrian’ camels which are a different species but still with two humps.

They live in parts of Africa, Asian and Australia – yes, over 1M wild dromedaries descended from animals take over there in the past. Camels are used for things that we use different animals for in Britain – you can ride and race them like horses, you get milk and meat from them, like sheep and cows, and like sheep, their fur is used for clothes and other textiles like we do with wool.

They are big and look a bit ungainly. Some camels even have a reputation for being bad-tempered or spitting… but don’t tell them I said that or they might get the hump!

Speaking of the camel’s hump, that is part of their special super power. They are very good at surviving in hot, dry conditions, which might be why they haven’t been needed round here! They can go for up to ten days without water. Their humps don’t hold water but their bodies can turn the fat inside the humps into water when they need it.

They still need water though and can drink it very quickly when they get the chance. An adult camel can swallow down 200l of water in 3 minutes – that’s like 100 big bottles of pop! So, you can probably make friends with a camel by offering it a drink… but make sure you’ve got plenty of water on hand!