Our next stop in our notebooking safari across Asia takes us to China. If you’re new to the notebooking safari, visit our first stop here.

***

Earlier on our safari, when we visited the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, I told you all about the dromedary camel. Today I want to show you the Bactrian camel. The dromedary and the Bactrian camels are easy to tell apart—the dromedary has one hump but the Bactrian has two. The Bactrian and the dromedary have a lot in common, but God made them different in some very important ways so they can survive in the places they live.

Do you remember when I told you about the extra thick and tough pads on the dromedary camel’s chests and knees so that the hot sand doesn’t burn them when they kneel or lie down? Well, the Bactrian camel doesn’t have those. The deserts where they live don’t usually get quite as hot as the deserts where the dromedaries live. The dromedary camels in the U.A.E. and Qatar live in deserts that often reach 120°F (49°C) or higher in the summer, but the Bactrian camels in Xinjiang enjoy cooler summer temperatures of just 100°F (38°C). That may not sound very cool to you, but I think those extra degrees in the hot desert without much water for days at a time would be pretty important, don’t you?

It was a lot of fun riding a dromedary camel back in the U.A.E. What do you say we see if we can get a ride on a Bactrian and see how they are different? Let’s go!

You can see pictures of Bactrian camels and watch some videos of them feeding at a zoo here.

Using the information on this page, answer the following questions: 

True or False:

1. A Bactrian camel usually grows to a height of nine feet (2.75 meters) tall.

2. Domesticated Bactrian camels can be found throughout Central Asia.

3. Bactrian camels eat grass, leaves, and even thorns.

Research challenge: Which type of camel can carry heavier loads longer distances, the dromedary or the Bactrian?

For a free downloadable copy of the entire Asian animals notebooking safari series (31 units total) plus a notebooking page for each one, sign up below.