tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8937414969460147900.post5381777117804033943..comments2024-03-06T07:06:38.928-08:00Comments on JSBlog - Journal of a Southern Bookreader: Camel poetryRay Girvanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05556764642402680159noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8937414969460147900.post-8376883470952643422010-01-14T11:17:48.653-08:002010-01-14T11:17:48.653-08:00Almost impossible to beat, but stay tuned for furt...Almost impossible to beat, but stay tuned for further efforts.<br><br>Camels can lead to very interesting things (said the Three Wise Men). Actually I am referring to another ungulate, the <br><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guanaco" rel="nofollow">Guanaco</a>. In addition to having a name reminiscent of bat droppings, it is one of four such beasties in the high altitudes of South America, including Mr. Nash's two-l llama. (with much dispute about the three-l lama but one now assumes it is a <br><a href="http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_three-L_LLLama" rel="nofollow">Brooklyn conflagaration</a>.)<br><br>Because they live at high altitudes Guanacos have 68 million red blood cells per 5ml (a teaspoon) of blood (actually it is 5 microliters, but, close enough). Humans have about 25 million per 5 microliters. Now it doesn't say how large a Guanaco rbc is, but if it is the same size as a human (or bigger as could be <a href="http://news.softpedia.com/news/Blood-Cell-Size-Influenced-by-Metabolism-125174.shtml" rel="nofollow">hypothesized</a>, then the hematocrit (percentage of rbc in blood) of a Guanaco might be well over 60-70%. In a human, such a level would be called polycythemia, a condition that would, untreated, lead to serious problems including stroke (polycythemia <i>vera</i>, the idiopathic disease in humans, is absolutely <br><a href="http://bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org/cgi/content/full/100/13/4272" rel="nofollow">fascinating</a> . Full disclosure, Jerry Spivak old friend.)<br><br>We have not heard of stroked out Guanacos on the pampas of Peru. But then, we haven't looked.<br><br>This brings up the interesting situation with Vampire Bats but that is another story....Dr. Cnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8937414969460147900.post-25879760240547223052010-01-14T12:04:30.027-08:002010-01-14T12:04:30.027-08:00GuanacoAha: that's the name of the one in that...<i>Guanaco</i><br><br>Aha: that's the name of the one in that group whose name I can never remember. Llama, vicuña, alpaca, guanaco. We have a few alpacas (must get out of Arabic context - I'm thinking of them as Al-Pacas) at a mini petting (one hopes not spitting, given the tendency of that bunch) zoo a few minutes from here.<br><br><i>Because they live at high altitudes Guanacos have 68 million red blood cells per 5ml</i><br><br>Oddly enough, people in the Andes have the same adaptation, whereas those in the Himalayas handle low oxygen by breathing faster. Just looking this up, I find <a href="http://anthro.palomar.edu/adapt/adapt_3.htm" rel="nofollow">Adapting to High Altitude</a> and <a href="http://icb.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/46/1/18" rel="nofollow">Andean, Tibetan, and Ethiopian patterns of adaptation to high-altitude hypoxia</a>. As you say, fascinating.Ray Girvanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05556764642402680159noreply@blogger.com