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What you never knew about camels

By Monty Siekerman
Freshmen Libby Sartschev and Sam Arnold, right, ride a camel led by Don Strobel of Jungle Island Zoo in Delphos. The ONU Student Planning Committee brought free camel rides to the Tundra last Wednesday. (Photo by Trevor Jones/Ohio Northern University

Wednesday is "Hump Day"...always is, but how often can you ride a humped-back critter on that day?

The ONU Student Planning Committee annually brings camels to campus on a Wednesday in the spring. This event is a popular attraction for students, faculty, and staff and their children.

Some interesting camel facts:
• Live 40 to 50 years
• Adults weigh 2,200 pounds
• Height is 6 feet at shoulder
• Can run 25 mph, sprint at 40 mph
• Good for human transport and as a pack animal
• Also, provide milk, meat, hair for textiles
• They do not store water in their humps as once thought
• They can drink 53 gal. of water in 3 minutes
• There are two kinds:
   Dromedary have 1 hump, live in Middle East
   Bactrian have 2 humps, live in Central Asia

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