You probably already know, that camels store fat cells in their humps to survive in dry places of the world. When needed, they use it as an energy source when there’s lack of water and food. That leads us to thinking, can camels eat cactus with thorns for a water source? What about those spiky thorns on a cactus? Let’s find out.
Yes, camels can eat cactus with thorns, because their mouth is lined with papillae, nodules that create a rough structure and help with chewing and food flow. It does hurt a camel to eat a thorny cactus, but they have adapted well to make it bearable.
Does it hurt camels to eat cactus?
Yes, cactus thorns are prickly and hurt a camel when it’s eating a cactus. Camels like to eat cacti, and tolerate the pain to be able to eat a cactus.
What is more, papillae help camels chew a cactus in a way so that needles don’t poke them too much. Camels rotate cacti that they are eating so that needles go down vertically instead of horizontally.
While camels move cacti carefully in their mouth, it still hurts them. Sometimes, cactus thorns poke the area around their mouth and get embedded.
It’s often needed that people take them out. It causes pain to a camel and will stay on their face for a long time unless removed.
How do camels eat a cactus?
Camels have adapted to eating cacti and bearing them pain for the benefit of nutrition. What helps camels chew a cactus is a hard palate on top of their mouths as well papillae lining.
Papillae are partially made of keratin (structural protein that makes nails). This protects camels’ mouth to an extent, but they still feel pain. Especially around lips.
Camels’ strong jaw and teeth grind a cactus against their mouth palate, helping to chew and work through sharp thorns. Their mouth is not leathery though, and they feel pain when eating a cactus.
But it’s their grinding and chewing ability that help them avoid getting poked by thorns. Have you seen how a camel chews from side to side? This chewing technique helps a camel push the cactus vertically down the throat, so that needles don’t poke and injure the inside of the mouth.
What is more, camels and their relatives alpacas, lamas etc. are pseudo-ruminants. This means that their digestive system allows them to digest roughage. Even though ruminants have a more efficient digestive system, camels can still digest roughage well.
You can watch a camel eating a cactus with long thorns in the video below:
What do camels eat in the desert?
Camels are herbivores, and they eat whatever they can find in the desert. They eat grasses, twigs, shrubs, herbs, leaves and sometimes parts of trees.
Why do camels eat cacti in the desert?
Because of harsh dry environments of where camels live, they have adapted to eating anything they can find to survive. This includes spiny cacti. Often, camel owners burn off cacti spines so that they can eat them without the pain of prickling.
Which animals eat cactus in the desert?
There are more animals that will eat a cactus in the desert. That’s because due to drought and general lack of water, these animals are forced to eat cacti to survive. That’s especially true for animals that don’t have a special way to store water in their body.
Some other animals will avoid eating spiky cacti, but will instead eat cacti’s fruits. They often lack spines and are somewhat sweeter.
Animals that eat cactus in the desert include:
- Javenilas (pig-like animals) – they are able to eat all parts of a cactus, including spines
- Woodrats – eat cacti around the sides where there are no spines
- Jackrabbits – eat cacti parts where there are no spines
- Gophers
- Squirrels – eat cactus fruits
- Desert tortoises
- Land iguanas – often eat cactus fruits
- Mule deer – can eat cactus fruits
How do camels drink water?
Camels can drink water normally and can even drink over 50 gallons of water in one go, within minutes! However, camels’ hump doesn’t hold any water – it only stores fat. They store water in their bloodstream, and can go long periods without drinking water.
Fat insulates heat, and allow camels to stay cool in hot weather conditions. When there’s lack of food and nourishment, they can use this fat to survive. When fat is used up, it turns into carbon dioxide and water as a waste. Camels can then use this water for their needs.
Thank you for reading this post! For more posts on cacti, please see this resource page.