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"Backpack the Camel" is the 7th episode of Season 7 of the PBS Kids show Wild Kratts. It is the 159th episode of the series overall. It premiered on April 3, 2024.
Synopsis[]
The gang travels to the Gobi Desert to discover the last remaining wild camels in the world. They experience the harshness of the desert landscape and are rescued from it only by the wild Bactrian camels and their amazing survival skills.
Plot[]
The episode opens with Martin and Chris Kratt at the Riverview Zoo and Park to visit the bactrian camel. They show how a bactrian camel has two humps, while the dromedary camel has one. A trick for remembering which is camel which is to note how the bactrian camel's two humps look like a B, and the dromedary camel's one hump looks like a D. But both camels have incredible desert adaptations. The brothers then wonder what it would be like to have camel powers and the show transitions into the cartoon segment.
The Wild Kratts team are at a farm in Mongolia, getting ready to embark on a journey through the Gobi Desert in search of the rare wild camel. But first, the Kratt brothers gather as much freshwater as possible before their trek through the unforgiving landscape. Jimmy immediately points out a camel, but Chris informs him this camel is domesticated. So, Chris, Martin, Aviva, Koki, and Jimmy take off in the Amphi-Trek XT.
Meanwhile, Donita rides on a sled pulled by camels, with pose beamed, stylized animals in tow. She plans to sell these in Europe. "I feel like Santa Claus in the desert.," she remarks. Hot and thirsty, Donita asks Dabio to get her water from a camel's hump, which he isn't able to do.
As Donita makes her way through the desert, so do the crew. Soon, they spot a wild bactrian camel and her newborn baby, who Martin names Backpack and Knapsack.
The camels soon walk on away, so the five follow them by sliding downhill in the Amphi-Trek XT, until they abruptly crash. The vehicle breaks. Jimmy stays behind with Koki while she repairs it, while Martin, Chris, and Aviva continue their search on foot.
The three become thirsty and tired from the heat. When they feel it's time to head back to the Amphi-Trek for more water, they realize they're starting to get a little lost.
Donita passes Koki and Jimmy at the Amphi-Trek. As she continues to demand water from the hump, Koki explains a camel's hump actually contains fat, which shocks Donita. Therefore, Dabio cruelly steals the Wild Kratts crew's water, before departing with Donita and leaving them behind.
Chris, Martin, and Aviva try to make their way back, but become too thirsty and exhausted. Just then, Backpack and Knapsack come by! The camels lead them to their herd and a pool of water, only for the three to realize it's salt water, which camels can drink, but not humans. Fortunately however, Martin had brought a water purifier. With their thirst quenched, the brothers observe the camels and their desert dwelling features while Aviva makes a Camel Power Disc.
When Chris activates Camel Power, he sees he has no humps. They soon realize Chris needs to eat and drink for his humps to start growing by gaining fat stores. Chris eats the food they discover in their pack, and his humps steadily begin to appear.
Just then, Donita encounters the brothers and Aviva. Dabio cruelly deactivates Chris. Donita abducts Knapsack to use as a cruelly creative water jug holder, and mockingly gives the brothers a camel wool scarf and hat before continuing on her way.
Nighttime comes, and Martin, Chris, and Aviva are still marooned in the middle of the now chilly desert. By deciding to make use of Donita's clothing for warmth, the brothers make Aviva realize Donita unintentionally helped them by enabling the brothers to activate Camel Power. Aviva gets on Chris, and off they all go.
With energy and hydration from their humps, Chris and Martin eventually catch up to Donita. They manage to take the place of her camels and distract her while Aviva frees the captured animals and rescues Knapsack. By the time Donita finds out, it's too late, and Martin and Chris then push and send both her and Dabio speeding away down the sand dunes. At the end of the episode, Chris, Martin, and Aviva reunite with Koki, Jimmy and the Amphi-Trek XT, which has finally been fixed. The team summarizes their adventure as they take the animals back to their habitats.
In the live-action closing segment, the Kratt brothers further discuss the features that enable camels to survive in the desert.
Characters[]
Animals[]
Animation[]
Note: Featured animals are in bold.
- Wild Bactrian Camel: Backpack, Knapsack
- Bactrian Camel
- Giant Panda
- Red Panda
- Chinese Luna Moth
- Chinese Pangolin
- Golden Pheasant
- Lichtenfelder's Gecko (called Chinese leopard gecko)
- Goitered Gazelle
- Chinese Scorpion
- Domestic Goat
- Rottweiler (called Dog)
Live Action[]
Note: Live action animals are linked to Wikipedia.
Trivia[]
- This is their first adventure in the Gobi desert, which is located around Mongolia and China.
Key Facts and Creature Moments[]
- Difference between dromedary and bactrian camels: Dromedary camels have one hump, bactrian camels have two humps. (Explained in the live action segment)
- Camels are one of the few land animals that can drink salt water.
- Wild bactrian camels are only found in the Gobi desert in Mongolia.
- Camels were domesticated by people for their wool, milk and ability to carry heavy loads across the desert.
- Camel humps store fat, not water; the fat can be metabolised into water and energy to allow camels to survive long periods of time without drinking. Camels can replenish the fat in their humps by simply eating and drinking a lot.
- Camels have long eyelashes and nostrils that close to keep sand out of them.
- Camels grow a thick woolly coat to keep themselves warm in cold winter months in the desert.
- Camels have wide feet to prevent them from sinking into soft sand.
- A baby camel can walk and run within a few hours after its birth, as an adaptation to keep up with the herd.