One day when you see a camel spit out a red meatball from its mouth, don't panic, because this is the normal "operation" of a camel. It's just that under normal circumstances, it is difficult for us to see. So, what are the red meatballs that camels spit out of their mouths? Is it the legendary "meat bag"? What is the use? Let us solve these problems together.
First, let’s take a look at the meatballs that camel spit out? When you see the picture above, most people think that the camel is holding something in its mouth. Some people think that the camel's stomach has fallen, and some people say it is a camel bag. In fact, the above statement is wrong, hehe, after all, a camel is a pure herbivore, even if you throw it into the meat, it will smell. Secondly, if you vomit out your belly, the camel can't look so calm. Finally, let's talk about the "meat bag".
In the entire body structure of a camel, there are no organs and tissues called sacs, and there is no place where its slender mouth can be used to place such a large sac. So what is this? In fact, the answer is very simple, that is the camel's tongue. Just like two peas, we can clearly see that the so-called "meat bag" emerges from the base of the tongue and comes back when it comes back. This is obviously the same as our usual tongue extension. Why is the camel's tongue like this? This starts with the feeding habits of camels. The camel, as a "desert boat", is the main means of transportation for people living on the edge of the desert.
There are two types of camels in the wild: dromedaries and bactrian camels. The dromedary camel has only one hump, which is mainly distributed on the edge of the deserts in West Asia and North Africa, while the bactrian camel is a bactrian camel as the name implies, mainly distributed on the edge of the desert in Central Asia. Because camels are animals on the edge of the desert, as herbivores, they have very few food choices. In order to adapt to the harsh ecological environment, the camel has a super ability to eat, and its super ability to eat is reflected in two aspects. On the one hand, camels can drink more than 50 kg of water at a time, which is one of the reasons why they do not need to drink water for a long time in the desert; on the other hand, camels can use prickly cacti as "potato chips." This ability is beyond the reach of most animals.
Because there are relatively few plants in the desert, in order to better adapt to desert life, camels have evolved a kind of "hard" mouth. In the camel's mouth, the jaw and tongue are hard thorns, so when you eat cactus, these hard thorns will pierce the cactus to avoid hurting your mouth and digestive tract. Since camels stick out their tongues, why does this behavior rarely occur? Although camels’ tongues are relatively large, their tongue size differs between females and males. Usually, the tongue of a female camel is much smaller than that of a male camel, and this is the problem. So, what causes the difference in tongue size between men and women?
The problem is the choice of spouse. Like most herbivores, camels need to compete for mating rights during the breeding season, and competition is between males. In other words, the right to choose a camel spouse lies with the female camel. Although male camels struggle to obtain mating rights during estrus, this does not mean that failed male camels do not have mating rights. Because camels are social animals, during estrus, the winner will only mate with a female camel. At this time, the defeated male camel will take the opportunity to mix with the herd of camels, looking for the opposite sex that has not yet mated. At this time, the importance of male camel tongue is reflected. In order to win the favor of the female camel, the male camel that was defeated will spit out his own big tongue. The bigger the tongue, the easier it is to get the favor of the other side. This is very similar to the big screen of a male peacock.
In their eyes, the size of a camel's tongue is equivalent to the size of a peacock's open screen, which is a symbol of strength. Because of this, we can only see this scene when the camel is in heat, and most of the male camels who lose in the duel stick out their tongues. So this scene is even rarer. In fact, the "tongue" technique of camel is summarized from camel meatballs. The reason the male camel’s tongue is larger than the female camel’s is that the large tongue is a sign of the strength of the male camel and can be favored by the opposite sex. In addition, the tongue of the camel is used to assist in eating, and the food itself is harmful.
