Most people picture camels with one hump. Those are dromedary camels and live in places like Arabia and North Africa. The Bactrian camel, with two humps, lives further north - in the cooler deserts of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China. Its thick fur grows long and shaggy in winter and falls off in summer.
The humps are not full of water. They are full of fat - up to 35 kilograms in each. When food is hard to find, the camel slowly uses the fat as fuel. After a long, hungry trip its humps can flop sideways like deflated balloons. After a few good meals, they fluff back up again.
Bactrian camels are wonderfully well-built for hard places. Their long eyelashes keep sand out of their eyes. Their nostrils can close to keep out a dust storm. Their feet are wide and soft so they don't sink into sand. They can drink 100 litres of water in one go - that is more than a bath full.
For thousands of years, Bactrian camels carried bags of silk, spices and salt along the Silk Road. They walked in long lines called caravans. Even today, in some parts of Uzbekistan, families keep small herds and still ride them in the desert.