How Can Camels Eat Cactus Without Getting Hurt?

Camels are some of the world’s most remarkable creatures. They have evolved to survive in some of the harshest Asian deserts and steppes. Among their surprising adaptations is the ability to consume cacti. While seemingly a painful ordeal, camels have evolved certain physical characteristics and behaviors that enable them to eat these spiny plants without injury.

But how exactly do camels eat thorny cacti? What does it tell us about their incredible survival mechanisms?

The Secret Lies in Their Mouth Structure

Camels’ mouths are specifically designed to handle tough, thorny vegetation. Their oral cavity is lined with stiff papillae — cone-shaped nodules made partially of keratin, the same protein found in human fingernails, although not as hard when touched. These papillae create a rough but protective surface that helps guide food toward the back of the throat while minimizing contact with sensitive tissues.

Moreover, papillae help camels chew in a way that aligns cactus spines vertically rather than horizontally, reducing the likelihood of hurting themselves while they eat. Their strong jaw muscles and grinding teeth further aid in breaking down cacti efficiently, allowing them to extract the necessary moisture and nutrients despite the plant’s natural defenses.

Why Do Camels Eat Cacti?

As opportunistic herbivores, camels eat whatever flora is present in their desert environments. They typically have a fiber-rich diet, feeding on twigs, leaves, shrubs, and dry grasses. However, in extreme conditions where water is scarce, cacti become an essential food source due to their high water content.

For example, the prickly pear cactus is a common part of a camel’s diet in desert regions. This plant stores water in its thick, fleshy pads, providing hydration that these creatures can extract even when no standing water is available.

Does It Hurt Camels to Eat Cactus?

Despite these adaptations, eating cacti is not a completely painless experience for camels. The thorns still prick their mouths and sometimes embed in the soft tissue around their lips. However, camels have a high pain tolerance and have adapted to endure minor discomfort in exchange for a tasty food and water source in arid regions. While they have evolved to eat cacti, there are still potential risks. In some cases, cactus spines can even become lodged in their mouths or faces, requiring intervention from herders. 

Many camels are observed to nibble at cactus pads to remove as many spines as possible before eating them. Herders sometimes burn off the spines of cacti before feeding them to domesticated camels to prevent unnecessary injury. In the wild, however, camels accept the occasional sting in favor of staying hydrated and nourished.

How Do Camels Digest Cacti?

Camels are pseudo-ruminants. This means they have an odd, multi-chambered stomach that allows them to digest tough plant material efficiently, though they do not have a four-chambered stomach like true ruminants such as cows. 

Their stomachs are composed of three chambers instead of four. Unlike true ruminants, they have an enlarged cecum — a pouch located at the beginning of the large intestine — where symbiotic microorganisms ferment and break down tough desert vegetation.

When a camel consumes cacti, it first enters the cecum. Microbial activity in the cecum initiates digestion by breaking down cellulose and fermenting plant matter. The partially digested food is then regurgitated as cud and chewed again to aid further breakdown. Finally, it’s passed through the omasum and abomasum for final digestion and nutrient absorption.

Do Other Animals Eat Cacti?

While camels are the most well-known cactus-eating mammals, they are not alone. Other desert-dwelling creatures have developed their own methods for consuming cacti inspite of its sharp needles:

• Javelinas or peccaries: These pig-like animals eat all parts of the cactus from the stems to the pads and fruits — spines included. These nocturnal beings can also feed on insects or occasional bird eggs but their favorite food is the prickly pear cactus
• Woodrats: Plant materials make up most of a desert woodrat’s diet. They usually eat spiny cactus, yucca pods, pinyon nuts, and creosote bush. When eating cacti, they munch around the spiny sections, consuming the softer parts of the cactus.
• Jackrabbits: A cactus’s water content makes it a magnet to jakc rabbits who nibble on cactus flesh to meet their survival needs. They dislike the thorns and only consume parts where spines are sparse.
• Desert tortoises: Tortoises prefer the spineless opuntia cactus in their diet, although they also eat thorns in the wild with no problem. They consume the pads, flowers, and fruits of the plant.

How Do Camels Stay Hydrated in the Desert?

It’s a common misconception that camels store water in their humps. In reality, their humps store rich fat, which can be metabolized into energy when food is scarce and they’re traveling long distances. Instead, camels store water in their bloodstream, allowing them to drink large amounts in one sitting — up to 30 gallons in just 10 minutes — and go for days or even weeks without drinking again.

Another fascinating adaptation is their ability to minimize water loss. Camels can tolerate dehydration levels that would be fatal to most other animals, and they produce highly concentrated urine and dry feces to conserve as much water as possible.

While they have remarkable traits that help them survive the arid climate, camels face the problem of desertification. Drylands comprise more than 40% of the earth’s surface, and they are self-expanding due to climate change. This can lead to habitat loss and water scarcity in an already depleted environment.

What Can We Learn from Camels’ Adaptations?

Camels’ ability to eat thorny cactus without serious injury is a testament to the incredible adaptability of nature. Their specialized mouths, high pain tolerance, and efficient digestion enable them to thrive in environments where few other large mammals can survive.

From a sustainability perspective, camels demonstrate how nature has evolved to use every available resource. Understanding these adaptations could even inspire biomimicry in agriculture, helping humans develop new methods to utilize arid-region plants for food and water conservation.

Solving the Camel’s Cactus Conundrum

Millions of years of evolution have allowed these creatures to consume cactus without suffering severe injuries. Because of their strong digestive tract, elaborate chewing process, and unusual mouth anatomy, they can eat prickly plants that most other animals would not be able to. Although the procedure is not completely pleasant, camels have evolved to endure the agony in return for a vital desert survival tool.

They are among the most intriguing species in the animal kingdom simply because of their exceptional adaptability and efficient use of limited resources. Understanding their adaptations provides insight into animal evolution and valuable lessons for sustainable living in harsh environments.