Camel Facts

Camel Facts Camels are mammals known for their distinctive humped backs. Bactrian camels (Camelus bactrianus) have two humps, while dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius) have one. These creatures humps store fat deposits that they use as sustenance when external food and water sources are scarce. Their ability to metabolize stored food for prolonged periods of time makes them good pack animals. Fast Facts: Camel Scientific Name: CamelusCommon Name: CamelBasic Animal Group: MammalsSize: 6–7 feet in heightWeight: 800–2,300 poundsLife Span: 15–50 yearsDiet: HerbivoreHabitat: Deserts in Central Asia (Bactrian) and North Africa and the Middle East (Dromedary)Population: 2 million domesticated Bactrian camels, 15 million domesticated dromedary camels, and less than 1,000 wild Bactrian camelsConservation Status: The wild Bactrian camel is classified as Critically Endangered. Other camel species are not considered endangered. Description Camels are well-known for their distinctive humps, but they also have other distinctive characteristics that make them well-suited for living in desert conditions. Importantly, camels have the ability to close their nostrils to prevent sand infiltration. They also have two rows of long lashes and a third eyelid. Both structures help to protect their eyes in harsh environments such as sandstorms. They also have thick hair that helps to protect them from the intense sunshine in their environment as well as padded feet to help withstand the hot temperatures of the desert floor. They are even-toed ungulates (hoofed mammals). Two-humped Camel.   Elena Kholopova/EyeEm/Getty Images Camels are usually between 6 and 7 feet in height and 9 to 11 feet in length. They can weigh up to 2,300 pounds. Other physical characteristics of camels include long legs, long necks, and a protruding snout with big lips. Habitat and Distribution Bactrian camels live in Central Asia, while dromedary camels live in North Africa and the Middle East. Wild bactrian camels live in south Mongolia and northern China. They are all typically found in desert regions, although they may also live in other similar environments like prairies. While we associate camels with extremely hot temperature environments, their habitat can also include extremely low temperature environments. They form a protective coat in the winter to help with the cold and shed the coat in the summer months. Diet and Behavior Camels are diurnal creatures, which means they are active during the day. They subsist on vegetation like low-lying grasses and other thorny and salty plants. To reach such low-lying plants and grasses, camels have developed a split upper lip structure so that each half of their upper lip can move independently, which helps them eat low-lying plants and grasses. Similar to cows, camels regurgitate food from their stomach back up to their mouths so they can chew it again. Camels can hydrate themselves faster than other mammals. They have been purported to drink approximately 30 gallons of water in a little over 10 minutes. Reproduction and Offspring Camels travel in herds made up of one dominant male and a number of females. A male bulls peak fertility, called rut, occurs at various times during the year based on species. Bactrians fertility peak occurs from November through May, while dromedaries can peak throughout the year. Males will usually mate with half a dozen or so females, although some males can mate with over 50 females in one season. Female camels have a gestation period of 12 to 14 months. When it is time to give birth, the expectant mother typically separates from the main herd. Newborn calves can walk shortly after birth, and after a period of a few weeks alone, the mother and calf rejoin the larger herd. Single births are most common, but twin camel births have been reported. Threats The wild Bactrian camel is threatened mainly by illegal hunting and poaching. Predator attacks as well as mating with domesticated Bactrian camels are also threats to the wild Bactrian camel population. Conservation Status Wild Bactrian camels (Camelus ferus) are designated as critically endangered by the IUCN. Fewer than 1,000 animals are left in the wild with a decreasing population. By comparison, there are an estimated 2 million domesticated Bactrian camels. Species There are two main species of camel: Camelus bactrianus and Camelus dromedarius. C. bactrianus have two humps, while C. dromedarius have one. A third species, Camelus ferus, is closely related to C. bactrianus but lives in the wild. Camels and Humans Humans and camels have a long history together. Camels have been used as pack animals for centuries and were likely domesticated in the Arabian peninsula between 3000 and 2500 BC. Due to their unique features that allow them to withstand desert travel, camels helped to facilitate trade. Sources â€Å"Camel.† San Diego Zoo Global Animals and Plants, animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/camel.â€Å"Camel Breeding.† Breeding Camels, camelhillvineyard.com/camel-breeding.htm.

Biography of Eva Gouel, Lover of Pablo Picasso

Biography of Eva Gouel, Lover of Pablo Picasso Eva Goeul (1885–December 14, 1915) was Pablo Picassos lover during his Cubist collage period in the early 1910s, one of several influential and romantic partners in Picassos life. She inspired a few of his most famous pieces of art, including Woman with a Guitar, which is also known as Ma Jolie (1912). Fast Facts: Eva Gouel Known For: Muse and mistress of Pablo Picasso, 1911- 1915Born: 1885, Vincennes, FranceParents: Adrian Gouel and Marie-Louise Ghà ©rouzeDied: December 14, 1915, ParisEducation: unknownSpouse(s): noneChildren: none Early Life Eva Gouel was born Eve Gouel  sometime in 1885 to Adrian Gouel and Marie-Louise Ghà ©rouze of Vincennes, France. At some point, she adopted the name Marcelle Humbert and claimed to have been married to a fellow named Humbert, but that doesnt seem to have been the case. Like most of the women Picasso met at this time- indeed like many people in the late Belle Epoque (1871–1914) of Paris- Eva kept her background purposefully mysterious, going by different names which came from various sources. In the correspondence of Picassos friends at the time of their alliance, Eva was considered both sweet and calculating, described as a small spicy girl who looked like a Chinese doll by Italian painter Gino Severini (1893–1966). Meeting Picasso Picasso met Gouel in 1911 at the cafe Ermitage in Paris, when she was going by the name of Marcelle Humbert. She was living with the Jewish-Polish artist Lodwicz Casimir Ladislas Markus (1870–1941), a satirist and minor Cubist better known as Louis Marcoussis. At the time, Picasso had been living with his first muse, Fernande Olivier, since 1904. He was diligently absorbed in studies developing Cubism with painter Georges Braque, and Fernande was hotly jealous of that absorption. Fernande and Picasso often went to the Paris cafes with Marcelle and Louis. On a number of occasions, they were all invited to the writer Gertrude Steins home on the rue de Fleurus, which was a popular place for artists and writers in Paris at the time. Stein and Picasso were close friends, but she and her longtime partner Alice B. Toklas didnt spot the relationship between Picasso and Gouel until February 1912. Fernande and Marcelle became fast friends: Fernande confided her miseries to Marcelle, including her unhappiness with Picasso. In 1911, Fernande began an affair with the young Italian Futurist Ubaldo Oppi (1889–1942). She asked Marcelle to cover for her in order to deceive Picasso, but it was a mistake. Instead, Marcelle began a clandestine affair with Picasso herself. Picassos Eve Picasso began his affair with Marcelle- now going by Eva Gouel at Picassos request- in late 1911. He began adding coded messages into his works, using allegorical imagery like bowls of peaches (thats Eva) and jugs with large spouts (thats Pablo). He also added written phrases like Jaime Eva (I love Eva) and Ma Jolie (My pretty one) as elements of the paintings. The famous Woman with a Guitar, the artists first work in Analytical Cubism, painted between 1911 and 1912, contains Ma Jolie, a nickname he gave to Eva after a popular song at the time. Picasso asked Marcelle Humbert to return to a version of her birth name, in part because he wanted to distinguish this mistress from the wife of his friend and fellow Cubist George Braque, also named Marcelle. He transformed Eve into the more Spanish-sounding Eva, and, to Picassos mind, he was the Adam to her Eve. Fernande On May 18, 1912, Picasso told Fernande that he had discovered her affair with Oppi and was leaving her for Eva. He moved out of her apartment, fired the maid and pulled his financial support of her; Eva moved out of her flat with Louis Marcoussis; and the new pair left Paris for Cà ©ret in southern France. In June of 1912, Picasso wrote friend and art collector Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler that I love [Eva] very much and I will write this in my paintings. Horrified, Fernande left the penniless Oppi and decided to seek out Picasso to rekindle their relationship- or so Picasso feared. Tucked away from the frantic Paris lifestyle in Cà ©ret, close to the Spanish border, Picasso and Eva got wind of Fernandes impending visit. They quickly packed and left instructions not to let anyone know of their whereabouts. They headed for Avignon and then met Braque and his wife in Sorgues later that summer. Death and Legacy In 1913, Picasso and Gouel visited Picassos family in Barcelona, Spain, and talked about marriage. But Picassos father died May 3, 1913, and that same year, Eva either contracted tuberculosis or developed cancer. By 1915, she spent weeks in the hospital. Picasso wrote Gertrude Stein describing his life as hell. Eva died in Paris on December 14, 1915. Picasso would live until 1973 and have dozens of affairs, a handful of which were well-known relationships with women, all of whom affected his art and life. Known Examples of Eva in Picassos Art: Picassos period of  Cubist collages  and papier collà © flourished during his affair with Eva Gouel; he also took two photographs of her. A number of his works during this time are either known or thought to be of Eva, the best-known of which are: Woman with a Guitar (Ma Jolie), 1912.Woman in an Armchair, 1913, Collection Sally Ganz, New YorkSeated Woman (Eva) Wearing a Hat Trimmed with a White Bird, 1915-16, private collection.Eva on Her Deathbed, 1915, pencil drawing, private collection Sources McAuliffe, Mary. Twilight of the Belle Epoque: The Paris of Picasso, Stravinsky, Proust, Renault, Marie Curie, Gertrude Stein, and Their Friends through the Great War. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman Littlefield, 2014.Otterstein, Pola. Pablo Picasso And His Women. Daily Art Magazine, November 28, 2017.Richardson, John. A Life of Picasso: the Cubist Rebel, 1907–1916.  New York: Alfred A. Knopf, New York.  Tucker, Paul Hayes. Picasso, Photography, and the Development of Cubism. The Art Bulletin 64.2 (1982): 288-99. Williams, Ellen. Picassos Paris: Walking Tours of the Artists Life in the City. New York: The Little Bookroom, 1999.