The Created Camel | The Institute for Creation Research

The Created Camel

The one-humped Camelus dromedarius has been called the ship of the desert--and for very good reasons. In a typical day, this 1,200+ pound animal can carry up to 400 pounds a hundred miles across the unforgiving desert without stopping for food or drink. Indeed, it has been known to go eight days without water.

Camels love grass and other plants that grow in the Arabian Desert. Their thickened lips are designed so that they can eat even the thorny, tough desert cactus. Their thick fur coat, shed once a year, can be woven into anything from tents to garments. In fact, camels would lose 50 percent more water if this coat didn't protect them from the sun.1 Camels are not friendly and when annoyed have been known to spit rank-smelling stomach contents.

Nevertheless, everything about the camel is fascinating--from the heavy-chain antibodies of its immune system to its iris, which contains a unique structure called the umbraculum (corpus nigra) that is designed to protect the delicate retina from the excessive glare of the desert. The double row of interlocking eyelashes screens sun and sand but still allows for clear vision. An inner eyelid acts much like a windshield wiper to brush errant sand grains from the eyeball.

The camel's valvular nostrils are designed to close tight and are lined with hairs for protection against wind-borne sand. Camel feet have two long toes with distinctive phalanges. The footpads are wide, with tough, leathery skin between thick soles. These naturally widen as the animal steps so it stays on top of shifting sands.

Evolutionists must insist that camels evolved from a non-camel ancestor over millions of years. But according to the fossil record, "the first camels appeared in late Eocene times as indicated by Poebrodon."2 Barbara Stahl states, "The first members of this tylopod [a suborder of even-toed ungulates including camels] assemblage appeared in the late Eocene, already subdivided into two lines."3 In 2006, BBC News reported that a fossilized camel discovered in Syria was twice as big as a modern one--but was still a camel.4 Paleontologists think it may have lived 100,000 to even a million years ago and was evidently killed by humans. As predicted by creation, the fossil record does not show a gradual evolutionary progression from non-camels to camels.

A popular legend states the camel's 80-pound hump is filled with water. In reality, it holds energy-rich fat the camel can use when there's no available vegetation. In a very complex process called fatty acid oxidation, the camel's body judiciously extracts fat from the hump, with water actually produced as a byproduct. As a fuel, a little fat goes a long way.

During extended treks, the dromedary camel can lose over 40 percent of its body water. In just ten minutes, it can drink 27 gallons of water, which immediately courses to its trillions of cells. Zoologists discovered that ten minutes after a camel has drunk 20 gallons of water, the stomach is empty. Water-storage chambers in the rumen (the first region) of its stomach have also been discovered. The oval-shaped, non-nucleated blood cells of the family Camelidae are unique among mammals. (Human blood cells are round and lack a nucleus.) Perhaps this design has something to do with these cells' ability to endure high osmotic variation, meaning they don't burst when all that water is suddenly introduced into the camel's system.

Camels--including the llama, a domesticated member of the camel family--are truly part of the world of animals whose design features magnificently reflect the mind of their Creator.

References

  1. Schmidt-Nielsen, K. 1977. Animal Physiology. New York: Cambridge University Press, 274.
  2. Colbert, E. H., M. Morales, and E. C. Minkoff. 2001. Colbert's Evolution of the Vertebrates, 5th ed. New York: Wiley-Liss, 425.
  3. Stahl, B. 1985. Vertebrate History: Problems in Evolution, rev. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 517.
  4. Giant camel fossil found in Syria. BBC News. Posted on news.bbc.co.uk October 10, 2006, accessed July 20, 2010.

* Mr. Sherwin is Senior Science Lecturer at the Institute for Creation Research.

Cite this article: Sherwin, F. 2010. The Created Camel. Acts & Facts. 39 (9): 16.

The Latest
NEWS
July 2025 ICR Wallpaper
"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome...

NEWS
Valued Longtime ICR Employee Mary Smith Retires
Mary Morris Smith, an employee of the Institute for Creation Research for many years, has retired. The second daughter of ICR founder Dr. Henry M. Morris...

NEWS
Man of Science, Man of God: George Washington Carver
Who:  George Washington Carver What: Father of Modern Agriculture When: 1864 or 1865 – January 5, 1943 Where: Diamond Grove,...

ACTS & FACTS
The Scopes Monkey Trial: A Battle of Worldviews
Rhea County Courthouse in Dayton, Tennessee, and its statue of William Jennings Bryan Image credit: M. Mueller The Scopes Monkey...

ACTS & FACTS
Long Non-Coding RNAs: The Unsung Heroes of the Genome
Evolutionary theory holds that all living things came about through random, natural processes. So conventional scientists believe the genome has developed...

ACTS & FACTS
Yosemite National Park, Part 1: Tiny Clues of a Grand Picture
Yosemite National Park in California is a sure source of stunning scenery. It’s no wonder that American naturalist John Muir persuaded President...

ACTS & FACTS
From Inference to Theory: A Common Design Case Study
Without a doubt, humans, chimpanzees, and other organisms share similar features. An early explanation was that these features reflect similar designs...

ACTS & FACTS
Creation Kids: T. rex
by Michael Stamp and Susan Windsor* You're never too young to be a creation scientist and explore our Creator's world. Kids, discover...

ACTS & FACTS
Entering By The Door
Recently, I hosted a visiting pastor from a large church at ICR’s Discovery Center. As I guided him through our Dallas museum, one conversation...

ACTS & FACTS
Creation Mission in Fiji
Michele discusses pages from Explore the World with boys at an orphanage Image credit: Brian Thomas In 2024 my wife, Michele,...