The camel is well suited to its life on the desert.
It is one of the few animals who can go without water for fairly long periods of time. Exactly how long depends on several factors: the temperature, the kind of work the camel is doing, and the food it is eating.
A camel in the hot desert, for example, needs water every 8-10 days. At that time, it may drink 5 gallons a day. But in cooler weather, it can go for much longer periods without water.
The availability of plants for the camel to eat is also a factor, since some have more water in them than others.
There are several reasons camels can go for so long without drinking. Compared to other animals, and people too, camels lose very little moisture from sweating.
Camels can get much hotter than other animals before they start losing moisture. Their temperature can go up and down a range of 11 degrees Fahrenheit without endangering the animal’s health, whereas in humans, a change of two or three degrees can be a sign of illness.
Camels on the Sahara Desert can go all winter without water, and will even refuse to drink if water is given to them.
