<Photos from left: 1) Bactrian camel with Mount Khuiten and Malchin Peak in the background 2) Ships of the Desert carrying our loads 3) Lucky number camel 4) sunset over the Potanin Glacier, Mongolia>
Have you ever heard of a camel being called cute? You hear parents telling their kids "ooooh look at that cute furry bear" or "Isn't that fat hippopotamus cute?". Unfortunately for the poor camel, not only is he not called cute, most of the time he's actually called ugly.
To add insult to injury, the camel's humps are always referred to as "water bags", which is technically incorrect. The camel's humps don't contain water. They store fat, which can be converted to energy when food is unavailable. With the humps, camels can survive for many months without food or water. In addition to the humps, camels have many other great features that earns them the nickname "ships of the desert". Did you know that:
camels have three eyelids. The third transparent lid helps keep out sand and dust;
camels can close their nostrils at will, which prevents them from inhaling sand during a sandstorm; and
the feet of camels are split into 2 large toes linked with webbing, creating a "snowshoe effect" that allows camels to walk easily on sand.
Camels may be ugly (they are just not cute), but they can sail across the sand dunes of the deserts. Your purpose in life isn't determined by what you look like or by what people think of you.
The philosopher René Descartes famously asserted that "I think, therefore I am" to proof that he exists (If I can think about existence, then surely I must exist). To proof that you have a purpose in life, you just have to believe in yourself - you don't need to look in the mirror. The camel may be cuter than you. #alwaysbelieve