Daily desert trekking requires careful preparation. You need the right equipment to manage the scorching heat and shifting sands of a Sahara or Gobi—sunscreen, shades, wide-brimmed hat, and maybe a pair of scorpion-proof shin guards. Unless you are a camel of course and have adapted over millions of years to a harsh desert climate in which case your professional grade, built-in gear makes traveling long distances across sizzling sands a day at the beach. These humped members of the camelid family are equipped with two toes on each foot connected to broad, thick foot pads which spread out and grip the sand as they walk, and tough knee pads which prevent sand burns when kneeling. Camels also have desert-friendly facial features to protect them from blowing sand including bushy eyebrows, two rows of long eyelashes, a handy third eyelid, and nostrils that can close against pesky flying particles.

Unfussy herbivores, camels have a very hard palate and thick, leathery mouth lining making them capable of consuming any old prickly plant they come across. And because plants and water sources are typically few and far between in the desert, camels have evolved to go long periods of time without eating or drinking. However, those famous humps are not filled with H2O, or camel chow for that matter, but stored fat which is metabolized for energy between feedings. Camels also have specially coated nasal passages which enable them to extract moisture from the air helping to prevent dehydration. When they do happen upon a watering hole, camels are champion drinkers, slurping up to 30 gallons in under 15 minutes.

Whether these excellent examples of environmental adaptation have one hump or two depends upon where you find them. The domesticated dromedary has one hump and is native to North Africa and the Middle East. The domesticated two-humped Bactrian camel can be found primarily in Central Asia. A third, critically endangered species, and the only wild camel left on earth, the two-humped wild Bactrian makes its home in the Gobi desert of Central Asia.  Any camels on your giving list?  May we suggest some desert-strength, leathery-lip balm to soothe cactus crunching ouchies.