The first of five clues. Each one below gives a little more away.
My hump is not full of what you think it is.
I can drink over a hundred litres in ten minutes and come to no harm.
My blood cells are oval rather than round, so they keep moving when I run dry.
I evolved in North America, and then left.
The desert animal with one hump, or two.
Camel
The hump is fat, not water. And camels began in North America, crossing to Asia over the same land bridge that people would later use in the opposite direction.
The hump stores fat, which is metabolic fuel rather than water, though burning it does release some moisture. The real adaptations are less visible: oval red blood cells that keep circulating when the blood thickens, a body temperature allowed to swing several degrees before sweating begins, kidneys that concentrate urine to a syrup. A thirsty camel can take in over a hundred litres in ten minutes without the cell damage that would kill most mammals. And the family began in North America, crossing to Asia over the Bering land bridge and to South America as llamas and alpacas.
Reading five clues at once is not the game. In the real thing they arrive one at a time and every wrong guess costs an hour. Play mystery #43 · today's mystery · the vault
Previous: mystery #42. Next: mystery #44. Or try #32, #33, #34, #35, #36, #37.