'A camel's hump does not hold water at all - it actually stores fat. The camel uses it as nourishment when food is scarce. If a camel uses the fat inside the hump, the hump will become limp and droop down. With proper food and rest the hump will return to normal.

The hump is not used for water storage, but camels can go for long periods of time without water. They drink large amounts of water - up to 20 gallons at a time. This water is stored in the animal's bloodstream.'

In fact, a thirsty camel can drink as many as 30 gallons (135 liters) of water in about 13 minutes. Contrary to many an old tale, camels don't store all that water in their humps. The humps actually conserve up to 80 pounds (36 kilograms) of fat—allowing their hosts to survive when food is scarce.

Camels are powerful animals, able to easily carry humans and their wares. They stand about 7 feet (2.1 meters) tall at the hump and weigh 1600 to 1800 pounds (726 to 816 kilograms). Over a four-day period a camel can haul 375 to 600 pounds (170 to 270 kilograms) at rates of 29 miles (47 kilometers) a day and 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) an hour. They have been clocked at over 40 miles (65 kilometers) an hour.

Well adapted to harsh climates, camels are famous for their ability to travel as many as 100 miles (161 kilometers) without water. They retain their body moisture efficiently, but they do not function without water. In fact, a thirsty camel can drink as many as 30 gallons (135 liters) of water in about 13 minutes.

Contrary to many an old tale, camels don't store all that water in their humps. The humps actually conserve up to 80 pounds (36 kilograms) of fat—allowing their hosts to survive when food is scarce. The humps shrink as fat is consumed for energy.

A camel's hump does not hold water at all - it actually stores fat. The camel uses it as nourishment when food is scarce. If a camel uses the fat inside the hump, the hump will become limp and droop down. With proper food and rest the hump will return to normal.

The hump is not used for water storage, but camels can go for long periods of time without water. They drink large amounts of water - up to 20 gallons at a time. This water is stored in the animal's bloodstream.

So what are Camel humps filled with? It turns out, fat. These fat humps can weigh as much as 80 pounds and allow the Camel to comfortably go one to two weeks without eating, if necessary.

Now, some of you out there might be saying to yourselves, “Well, but 1 gram of fat actually gets converted to more than 1 gram of water during the metabolic process, so it actually is a kind of water store.” This is correct in principle, but ends up not helping the Camel out any in terms of water supply. Even though more water is produced processing the fat than there was fat, gram for gram, the metabolic process actually uses quite a bit of water due to the arid conditions Camels live in. Basically, they lose a lot of water through their lungs getting the oxygen necessary to process the fat. So the net effect of processing the fat actually results in less water than there was before.

Published on Oct 28, 2013

The camel's hump is a giant deposit of fat that lets the camel survive up to 2 weeks without food. Learn more about camels in this episode of BrainStuff.

Whether the topic is popcorn or particle physics, you can count on the HowStuffWorks team to explore - and explain - the everyday science in the world around us on BrainStuff.

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