Dromedary camel

단봉낙타

The one-humped dromedary can go for days without water. Its hump stores fat, not water, and it can drink over 100 litres in one go. For centuries it has carried the loads of caravans across the Sahara.

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At a glance

Class: Mammals
Lives in: Sahara Desert (Algeria, Niger, Libya)
Diet: Plant eater (herbivore)
Weight: about 460 kg
Length: about 3 m
Top speed: about 65 km/h
Lifespan: up to about 40 years
Habitat: deserts

Quick answers

Where does the Dromedary camel live?

It lives in deserts. On the globe you can find it near Sahara Desert (Algeria, Niger, Libya).

How big is the Dromedary camel?

It grows to about 3 m and 460 kg.

What does the Dromedary camel eat?

Its diet: plant eater (herbivore).

How fast is the Dromedary camel?

It can reach about 65 km/h.

How long does the Dromedary camel live?

It can live up to about 40 years.

The dromedary, also called the Arabian camel or one-humped camel, is the tallest of the three camel species. An adult male stands about 1.8 to 2.4 metres tall at the shoulder and weighs 400 to 690 kilograms. It has a long curved neck, a narrow chest and a single hump on its back.

It lives in dry lands of the Old World, mainly Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Thar desert in Pakistan and India. Today the dromedary is a domestic animal. It has not occurred naturally in the wild for nearly 2,000 years, though a feral population lives in Australia. Its milk and meat feed people in dry lands where few other farm animals can live.

Built for the desert

The hump is at least 20 centimetres tall and is made of fat held together by fibrous tissue, not of water. A dromedary can lose more than 30 percent of the water in its body and still survive, which lets it thrive in dry country.

It eats leaves and desert plants. Dromedaries are mostly active in daytime and live in herds of about 20 led by a dominant male.

A helper of people

The dromedary was probably first tamed on the Arabian Peninsula about 4,000 years ago. People ride it, load it with goods, and use its meat and milk, which support several North African tribes.

Females have one calf after about 15 months of pregnancy. The name "dromedary" comes from a Greek word meaning "running" or "runner".

Fun facts

Truly wild dromedaries no longer exist, but Australia has the world's largest herd of feral camels, descended from imported ones.
The hump is stored fat, not water.
A dromedary can lose over 30 percent of its body water and keep going.
Dromedaries have not lived truly wild for nearly 2,000 years.
The name comes from a Greek word for "runner".