A camel, deriving its name from Latin (camelus), Ancient Greek (κάμηλος (kamēlos)), and Ancient Semitic (gāmāl), is an even-toed ungulate belonging to the genus Camelus, characterized by prominent fatty deposits, or "humps," on its dorsal region. These animals have a long history of domestication, serving as livestock that yields both sustenance (milk and meat) and textile materials (fiber and felt derived from their hair). Camels are highly adapted working animals, particularly suited to desert environments, where they function as an essential mode of transportation for both individuals and goods. Currently, three extant camel species are recognized. The dromedary, distinguished by a single hump, constitutes 94% of the global camel population, while the two-humped Bactrian camel accounts for the remaining 6%. Notably, the wild Bactrian camel represents a separate species, not ancestral to its domestic counterpart, and is currently classified as critically endangered, with fewer than 1,000 individuals remaining.
A camel (from Latin: camelus and Ancient Greek: κάμηλος (kamēlos) from Ancient Semitic: gāmāl) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus Camelus that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provide food (camel milk and meat) and textiles (fiber and felt from camel hair). Camels are working animals especially suited to their desert habitat and are a vital means of transport for passengers and cargo. There are three surviving species of camel. The one-humped dromedary makes up 94% of the world's camel population, and the two-humped Bactrian camel makes up 6%. The wild Bactrian camel is a distinct species that is not ancestral to the domestic Bactrian camel, and is now critically endangered, with fewer than 1,000 individuals.
Informally, the term camel is often employed in a broader context, though "camelid" is the more precise designation, encompassing all seven species within the family Camelidae. This includes the three aforementioned "true camels" and the "New World" camelids—the llama, alpaca, guanaco, and vicuña—which are classified under the distinct tribe Lamini. The evolutionary origins of camelids trace back to North America during the Eocene epoch. The progenitor of contemporary camels, Paracamelus, subsequently migrated into Asia via the Bering land bridge during the late Miocene, approximately 6 million years ago.
Taxonomy
Extant Species
The following three species are currently extant:
Biological Characteristics
Camels typically exhibit a life expectancy ranging from 40 to 50 years. A mature dromedary camel attains an average shoulder height of 1.85 meters (6 feet 1 inch) and a hump height of 2.15 meters (7 feet 1 inch). Bactrian camels, in contrast, can exceed these dimensions by approximately one foot. These animals are capable of achieving sprint speeds of up to 65 kilometers per hour (40 miles per hour) and maintaining sustained speeds of 40 kilometers per hour (25 miles per hour). Body mass varies, with Bactrian camels weighing between 300 and 1,000 kilograms (660 to 2,200 pounds), and dromedaries between 300 and 600 kilograms (660 to 1,320 pounds). The distinctive widening toes on a camel's hoof enhance traction across diverse soil substrates.
Male dromedary camels possess a specialized organ in their throat known as a dulla. This large, inflatable sac is extruded from the mouth during the rutting season, serving to establish dominance and attract potential mates. Its appearance is characterized by a lengthy, distended, pinkish structure protruding from the side of the camel's mouth. Mating behavior involves both the male and female adopting a seated position on the ground, with the male mounting from the posterior. Typically, the male achieves three to four ejaculations during a single copulatory session. Notably, camelids are unique among ungulates for their practice of mating in a recumbent position.
Ecological and Behavioral Adaptations
Contrary to popular belief, camels do not store water in their humps; rather, these structures serve as reservoirs of fatty tissue, providing a caloric reserve. The metabolic breakdown of this adipose tissue generates a greater mass of water than the fat itself. However, this fat metabolization, while releasing energy, simultaneously leads to water loss through evaporation from the lungs during respiration (due to the oxygen requirement for the metabolic process), resulting in a net reduction of the animal's overall water balance.
Camels possess a suite of physiological adaptations enabling them to endure extended periods without external water sources. Dromedary camels, for instance, can subsist on water intake as infrequent as once every 10 days, even in extreme heat, and are capable of losing up to 30% of their body mass through dehydration. They can consume up to 30 imperial gallons (140 liters) of water in a single session, which is absorbed into the bloodstream rather than being stored in the humps, contrary to common misconception.
A distinctive feature of camel physiology is the oval morphology of their red blood cells, contrasting with the circular shape found in most other mammals. This unique shape enhances red blood cell flow during periods of dehydration and confers superior resistance to osmotic variations, preventing cell rupture when large volumes of water are consumed.
Camels exhibit remarkable physiological adaptations, enabling them to endure fluctuations in body temperature and water deprivation that would be lethal to most other mammals. Their core body temperature typically fluctuates from 34 °C (93 °F) at dawn, progressively rising to 40 °C (104 °F) by sunset, before returning to lower levels overnight. Compared to other livestock, camels demonstrate exceptional fluid conservation, losing only approximately 1.3 liters of fluid daily, in contrast to the 20 to 40 liters lost by other species. Critical for animal survival is the maintenance of brain temperature within narrow limits; camels achieve this through a rete mirabile, an intricate network of closely positioned arteries and veins that employs countercurrent blood flow to cool cerebral blood. Even when ambient temperatures reach 49 °C (120 °F), camels seldom perspire. Any perspiration that does occur evaporates directly from the skin surface, rather than from the outer coat, ensuring that the heat of vaporization is drawn from the body's internal heat, not from the surrounding environment. Furthermore, camels can tolerate a water loss equivalent to 25% of their body weight, a stark contrast to most other mammals, which typically succumb to cardiac failure due to circulatory disturbance after losing only 12–14% of their body water.
During exhalation, camels efficiently conserve water by trapping water vapor within their nostrils, which is subsequently reabsorbed into the body. Under milder environmental conditions, camels consuming green herbage can acquire adequate moisture to sustain hydration without requiring external water sources.
Despite not belonging to the ruminant suborder, camels possess three-chambered stomachs and engage in rumination as an integral part of their digestive physiology.
The camel's dense coat provides insulation against the intense heat radiating from desert sands; notably, a shorn camel requires 50% more perspiration to prevent overheating. In summer, the coat's color lightens, enhancing light reflection and offering protection against sunburn. Their elongated legs contribute to thermoregulation by elevating the body further from the ground, which can reach temperatures of up to 70 °C (158 °F). Dromedaries possess a thick tissue pad over the sternum, known as the pedestal. When the animal adopts a sternal recumbent position, this pedestal elevates the body from the hot surface, facilitating the circulation of cooling air underneath.
Camels' mouths are equipped with a thick, leathery lining, enabling them to masticate thorny desert vegetation without injury. Protective adaptations against sand include long eyelashes, ear hairs, and nostrils capable of closure, forming an effective barrier. Should sand become lodged in their eyes, camels can dislodge it using their translucent third eyelid, also known as the nictitating membrane. Their distinctive gait and broad feet facilitate movement across sandy terrain without sinking.
Camel kidneys and intestines exhibit exceptional efficiency in water reabsorption. Specifically, camel kidneys feature a cortex-to-medulla ratio of 1:4, meaning the medullary region occupies twice the area found in a cow's kidney. Additionally, their renal corpuscles possess a smaller diameter, which reduces the surface area available for filtration. These two significant anatomical characteristics enable camels to conserve water effectively and minimize urine volume in harsh desert environments. Consequently, camel urine is highly concentrated, resembling a thick syrup, and their faeces are so desiccated that they can be used directly as fuel without prior drying.
The camel immune system presents distinct characteristics compared to other mammals. Typically, Y-shaped antibody molecules comprise two heavy (long) chains forming the stem and two light (short) chains at each arm's tip. However, camels also produce unique antibodies composed solely of two heavy chains, which confers smaller size and enhanced durability. These "heavy-chain-only" antibodies, identified in 1993, are hypothesized to have evolved approximately 50 million years ago, following the divergence of camelids from ruminants and pigs.
The parasite Trypanosoma evansi is the causative agent of surra in camels.
Genetics
While various research groups have previously investigated the karyotypes of different camelid species, a consensus on camelid chromosome nomenclature remains elusive. A 2007 study employed flow sorting techniques to analyze camel chromosomes, confirming that camels possess 37 pairs of chromosomes (2n=74). This analysis revealed a karyotype comprising one metacentric, three submetacentric, and 32 acrocentric autosomes. The Y chromosome was identified as a small metacentric, whereas the X chromosome was characterized as a large metacentric.
The hybrid camel, a cross between Bactrian and dromedary camels, possesses a single hump characterized by an indentation 4–12 cm (1.6–4.7 in) deep, which demarcates its anterior and posterior sections. This hybrid attains a shoulder height of 2.15 m (7 ft 1 in) and a hump height of 2.32 m (7 ft 7 in). With an average weight of 650 kg (1,430 lb), it demonstrates a superior carrying capacity of approximately 400 to 450 kg (880 to 990 lb), exceeding that of both dromedary and Bactrian camels.
Molecular analyses indicate that the wild Bactrian camel (C. ferus) diverged from the domestic Bactrian camel (C. bactrianus) approximately one million years ago. Furthermore, New World and Old World camelids separated around 11 million years ago. Despite these significant evolutionary divergences, these species retain the capacity to hybridize and produce viable offspring. The cama, a camel-llama hybrid, was specifically engineered by scientists to investigate the genetic proximity of the parent species. This process involved collecting semen from a camel via an artificial vagina and subsequently inseminating a llama after inducing ovulation with gonadotrophin injections. The resulting cama exhibits an intermediate size between a camel and a llama, notably lacking a hump. Its ears are morphologically intermediate, its legs are longer than those of a llama, and its hooves are partially cloven. Analogous to mules, camas are sterile, notwithstanding the identical chromosome count in both parental species.
Evolution
The earliest identified camelid, designated Protylopus, inhabited North America between 40 and 50 million years ago during the Eocene epoch. This species, roughly the size of a rabbit, thrived in the open woodlands of what is presently South Dakota. By 35 million years ago, Poebrotherium had evolved to the size of a goat, exhibiting a greater number of characteristics shared with modern camels and llamas. Concurrently, the hoofed Stenomylus, distinguished by its digitigrade locomotion, also existed. The long-necked Aepycamelus subsequently emerged during the Miocene. The phylogenetic split between the Camelini tribe, encompassing extant camels, and the Lamini tribe, which includes modern llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, and guanacos, is estimated to have occurred over 16 million years ago.
The progenitor of contemporary camels, Paracamelus, migrated from North America to Eurasia via Beringia during the late Miocene, approximately 7.5 to 6.5 million years ago. During the Pleistocene epoch, between three and one million years ago, North American Camelidae expanded into South America as part of the Great American Interchange, traversing the newly formed Isthmus of Panama, where they diversified into guanacos and related taxa. Populations of Paracamelus persisted in the North American Arctic into the Early Pleistocene. This ancient creature is estimated to have reached a height of approximately nine feet (2.7 meters). Fossil evidence indicates that the Bactrian camel diverged from the dromedary approximately one million years ago.
The final camel species indigenous to North America was Camelops hesternus, which became extinct alongside horses, short-faced bears, mammoths, mastodons, ground sloths, sabertooth cats, and numerous other megafauna during the Quaternary extinction event. This event coincided with the migration of humans from Asia into North America at the close of the Pleistocene, approximately 13,000–11,000 years ago.
An extinct giant camel species, Camelus knoblochi, inhabited Asia during the Late Pleistocene, ultimately becoming extinct around 20,000 years ago.
Domestication
Camels, similar to horses, originated in North America before dispersing across Beringia into Asia. They subsequently survived in the Old World, where they were eventually domesticated by humans and disseminated globally. In North America, the original wild camel populations, along with many other megafauna, were eradicated during the dispersal of the first indigenous peoples of the Americas from Asia, approximately 10,000 to 12,000 years ago; however, fossil evidence has not definitively linked these extinctions to hunting activities.
The majority of extant camel populations are domesticated. While feral populations are present in Australia, India, and Kazakhstan, truly wild camels are exclusively found within the wild Bactrian camel population residing in the Gobi Desert.
History
The precise timing of camel domestication remains a subject of scholarly debate. Dromedaries may have been initially domesticated in Somalia or South Arabia during the 3rd millennium BC, while Bactrian camels are thought to have been domesticated in Central Asia around 2,500 BC, as evidenced at Shar-i Sokhta (also known as the Burnt City), Iran. A comprehensive 2016 study, which involved genotyping and worldwide sequencing of modern and ancient mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), proposed that initial domestication occurred in the southeastern Arabian Peninsula, with the Bactrian type subsequently domesticated in Central Asia.
Martin Heide's 2010 research on camel domestication tentatively concludes that humans had domesticated the Bactrian camel by at least the mid-third millennium BCE in a region east of the Zagros Mountains, before its subsequent introduction to Mesopotamia. Heide proposes that references to camels within patriarchal narratives could, in certain instances, pertain to the Bactrian camel. He also observes the absence of camel mentions in connection with Canaan. Heide and Joris Peters reaffirmed this conclusion in their 2021 study on the subject.
Between 2009 and 2013, archaeological excavations conducted by Lidar Sapir-Hen and Erez Ben-Yosef in the Timna Valley unearthed what are potentially the earliest domestic camel bones discovered in Israel, or indeed beyond the Arabian Peninsula, dated to approximately 930 BCE. This finding attracted significant media attention, as it provides substantial evidence suggesting that the narratives concerning Abraham, Jacob, Esau, and Joseph were composed subsequent to this period.
The observation that camels were present in Mesopotamia and Arabia but absent from Syria is not a novel concept. Historian Richard Bulliet posited that despite occasional biblical mentions of camels, this did not necessarily indicate the widespread presence of domesticated camels in the Holy Land during that era. Earlier still, archaeologist William F. Albright regarded biblical references to camels as anachronistic.
The official report by Sapir-Hen and Ben-Joseph states:
The integration of the dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius) as a beast of burden in the southern Levant significantly enhanced trade routes across Arabia's expansive deserts, thereby fostering both economic and societal transformations (e.g., Kohler 1984; Borowski 1998: 112–116; Jasmin 2005). This development has prompted extensive scholarly debate concerning the chronology of the earliest domesticated camel in the southern Levant and adjacent regions (e.g., Albright 1949: 207; Epstein 1971: 558–584; Bulliet 1975; Zarins 1989; Köhler-Rollefson 1993; Uerpmann and Uerpmann 2002; Jasmin 2005; 2006; Heide 2010; Rosen and Saidel 2010; Grigson 2012). Presently, a consensus among most scholars indicates that the dromedary was utilized as a pack animal during the early Iron Age, specifically no earlier than the 12th century BCE.
and concludes by stating:
Contemporary data derived from copper smelting sites within the Arabah Valley allow for a more precise determination of the introduction of domestic camels to the southern Levant, based on stratigraphic contexts correlated with a comprehensive series of radiocarbon dates. These data suggest that this occurrence transpired no earlier than the final third of the 10th century BCE, and most likely within that period. The temporal alignment of this event with a significant restructuring of the region's copper industry—a change ascribed to the outcomes of Pharaoh Shoshenq I's campaign—suggests a potential correlation, implying that camels were introduced as a component of initiatives to enhance trade efficiency.
Textiles
Camel hair is utilized by desert tribes and Mongolian nomads for various applications, including tents, yurts, apparel, bedding, and accessories. Camel fiber consists of coarse outer guard hairs and fine inner down, which can be categorized by color and the animal's age. The guard hairs are suitable for felting into waterproof coats for herdsmen, whereas the softer down is reserved for high-quality products. This fiber can be spun for weaving or processed into yarns for hand knitting or crocheting. Historical records indicate the use of pure camel hair in Western garments from the 17th century onward, with a blend of wool and camel hair becoming prevalent from the 19th century.
Military uses
The earliest camel saddles emerged by approximately 1200 BCE, enabling the riding of Bactrian camels. Initially, saddles were placed on the camel's back, with control of the Bactrian camel achieved through the use of a stick. Subsequently, between 500 and 100 BCE, Bactrian camels were integrated into military operations. Novel, rigid, and curved saddles were designed to fit over the humps, distributing the rider's weight more effectively across the animal. During the seventh century BCE, the military Arabian saddle developed, offering further minor enhancements to saddle design.
Camel cavalries have been employed by military forces in conflicts across Africa and the Middle East, with their use persisting into the contemporary era within India's Border Security Force (BSF). The earliest recorded deployment of camel cavalries dates to the Battle of Qarqar in 853 BCE. Furthermore, armies have utilized camels as pack animals, serving as an alternative to horses and mules for transporting goods.
The East Roman Empire employed auxiliary units, designated as dromedarii, which were recruited from its desert provinces. Camels were primarily utilized in combat due to their capacity to intimidate horses at close quarters, a phenomenon attributed to the camels' scent. This tactical advantage was notably exploited by the Achaemenid Persians against Lydia during the Battle of Thymbra in 547 BC.
The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
In the 19th century, the United States Army formed the U.S. Camel Corps, which was based in California. The original stables at the Benicia Arsenal in Benicia, California, are still extant and now house the Benicia Historical Museum. Despite the experimental deployment of camels being deemed successful—with John B. Floyd, the Secretary of War in 1858, advocating for funds to acquire an additional thousand camels—the corps was disbanded following the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861. With Texas joining the Confederacy, the majority of the camels were released into the desert.
France established a méhariste camel corps in 1912, integrating it into the Armée d'Afrique in the Sahara. This initiative aimed to enhance control over Tuareg and Arab insurgents, who utilized camels, following the failure of earlier infantry-based campaigns. The Free French Camel Corps participated in World War II, and camel-mounted units continued operations until French colonial rule in Algeria concluded in 1962.
The British formed the Imperial Camel Corps in 1916. Initially deployed against the Senussi, it subsequently served in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign during World War I. This corps consisted of infantry personnel who rode camels for desert transit but dismounted to engage in combat on foot. Following July 1918, the corps experienced a decline due to a lack of reinforcements and was officially disbanded in 1919.
During World War I, the British Army also established the Egyptian Camel Transport Corps, composed of Egyptian camel drivers and their animals. This corps provided logistical support for British military operations in Sinai, Palestine, and Syria by delivering provisions to troops.
Colonial authorities in British Somaliland formed the Somaliland Camel Corps in 1912; it was subsequently disbanded in 1944.
During World War II, Romanian forces utilized Bactrian camels in the Caucasian region. Concurrently, in 1942, Soviet units operating near Astrakhan adopted local camels as draft animals to compensate for shortages of trucks and horses, retaining them even after relocating from the area. Despite significant casualties, some of these camels ultimately reached as far west as Berlin.
The Bikaner Camel Corps, originating from British India, served alongside the British Indian Army in both World War I and World War II.
The Tropas Nómadas (Nomad Troops) constituted an auxiliary regiment of Sahrawi tribesmen within the colonial army of Spanish Sahara, now known as Western Sahara. Active from the 1930s until the conclusion of Spanish presence in the territory in 1975, the Tropas Nómadas were armed with small arms and commanded by Spanish officers. This unit was responsible for guarding outposts and occasionally conducting camel-mounted patrols.
The Twenty-First Century
Saudi Arabia hosts the annual King Abdulaziz Camel Festival, which features camel racing, camel milk tasting, and a camel "beauty pageant" offering prize money totaling $57 million (£40 million). In 2018, twelve camels were disqualified from the beauty competition after their owners were discovered to have administered botox injections. A comparable incident in 2021 resulted in the disqualification of over forty camels.
Culinary Applications
Camel meat and milk are dietary components prevalent in numerous cuisines, particularly those of the Middle East, North Africa, and certain regions of Australia. Camels serve as a source of both meat and milk for human consumption.
Dairy Products
Camel milk constitutes a staple food for desert nomadic tribes and is occasionally regarded as a complete meal. A nomad can subsist solely on camel milk for nearly a month.
Camel milk is readily convertible into yogurt but requires initial souring, churning, and the subsequent addition of a clarifying agent for butter production. Historically, camel milk proved unsuitable for cheese production due to rennet's inability to coagulate its proteins sufficiently for curd formation. To mitigate milk waste, the FAO engaged Professor J.P. Ramet from the École Nationale Supérieure d'Agronomie et des Industries Alimentaires, who successfully induced curdling in the 1990s through the incorporation of calcium phosphate and vegetable rennet. The resulting cheese exhibits low cholesterol content and is easily digestible, even for individuals with lactose intolerance.
Furthermore, camel milk is suitable for ice cream manufacturing.
Meat
Globally, an estimated 3.3 million camels and other camelids are processed annually for meat. A single camel carcass yields a considerable quantity of meat. Male dromedary carcasses typically range from 300–400 kg (661–882 lb), whereas male Bactrian carcasses can reach up to 650 kg (1,433 lb). Female dromedaries yield lighter carcasses, generally weighing between 250 and 350 kg (550 and 770 lb). Preferred cuts include the brisket, ribs, and loin, with the hump regarded as a particular delicacy. The hump's "white and sickly fat" is utilized in the preparation of khli, a preserved meat product derived from mutton, beef, or camel. Both camel milk and meat are nutritionally dense, containing abundant protein, vitamins, glycogen, and other vital nutrients, rendering them crucial dietary components for numerous populations. Considering both chemical composition and meat quality, the dromedary camel is the favored breed for meat production. Its exceptional physiological adaptations, such as tolerance to extreme temperatures, solar radiation, water scarcity, challenging terrain, and sparse vegetation, enable its thriving in arid environments. Camel meat is often described as having a flavor similar to coarse beef; however, meat from older animals can be notably tough, though prolonged cooking enhances its tenderness.
Camels are among the animals ritually sacrificed during the Eid al-Adha qurban, with the meat typically divided into three portions: one for the household, one for extended family and social networks, and one for distribution to those unable to afford their own sacrifice.
At the Abu Dhabi Officers' Club, camel burgers are prepared with added beef or lamb fat to enhance texture and flavor. In Karachi, Pakistan, certain restaurants feature nihari made from camel meat. Specialized camel butchers offer precise cuts, with the hump being the most sought-after portion.
Camel meat has been consumed for centuries. Ancient Greek texts document its presence as a dish at banquets in ancient Persia, typically roasted whole. The Roman emperor Heliogabalus was known to consume camel's heel. Its consumption is prevalent in specific regions, such as Eritrea, Somalia, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Libya, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kazakhstan, particularly in arid zones where alternative protein sources are scarce or where camel meat holds significant cultural heritage. Camel blood is also consumed, notably by pastoralist communities in northern Kenya, who drink it with milk as a vital source of iron, vitamin D, salts, and minerals.
A 2005 joint report by the Saudi Ministry of Health and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention documented four instances of human bubonic plague attributed to the consumption of raw camel liver.
Camel meat also features periodically in Australian cuisine; for instance, camel lasagna is offered in Alice Springs. For many years, Australia has exported camel meat, predominantly to the Middle East, but also to Europe and the United States. This meat enjoys considerable popularity among East African Australians, including Somalis, and its consumption is expanding among other Australian demographics. The feral status of these animals results in a distinct meat type compared to farmed camels globally; it is prized for being disease-free and originating from a unique genetic population. Current demand surpasses supply, prompting calls for governments to reallocate resources from camel culling towards market development instead. Australia currently operates seven camel dairies, which yield milk, cheese, and skincare products, alongside meat.
Religion
Islam
In Islamic tradition, camel meat is classified as halal (Arabic: حلال, 'allowed'). Nevertheless, certain Islamic jurisprudential schools contend that its consumption induces a state of ritual impurity. Consequently, adherents of these schools are required to perform wudhu (ablution) prior to their subsequent prayer following the ingestion of camel meat. Furthermore, some Islamic scholarly perspectives deem it haram (Arabic: حرام, 'forbidden') for Muslims to perform Salat in areas frequented by camels, as such locations are reputedly associated with the Shaytan (Arabic: شيطان, 'Devil'). While Abu Yusuf (d. 798) permitted the use of camel urine for medical purposes when necessary, Abū Ḥanīfah advised against its consumption.
Camels are prominent figures in numerous narratives within Islamic scriptures. For instance, the account of the people of Thamud describes the prophet Salih's miraculous evocation of a naqat (Arabic: ناقة, 'milch-camel') from a rock. Following Muhammad's migration from Mecca to Medina (the Hijrah), he permitted his she-camel to wander freely, and the site where it ultimately rested dictated the chosen location for his residence in Medina.
Judaism
Within Jewish tradition, both camel meat and milk are considered non-kosher. Camels fulfill only one of the two requisite criteria for kosher animals; while they ruminate, they lack cloven hooves: "But these you shall not eat among those that bring up the cud and those that have a cloven hoof: the camel, because it brings up its cud, but does not have a [completely] cloven hoof; it is unclean for you."
The Makhamara clan, a Palestinian Muslim community in Yatta asserting Jewish ancestry, reportedly abstains from consuming camel meat, a practice frequently cited as corroboration of their claimed Jewish heritage.
Cultural depictions
Potentially the most ancient camel carvings were unearthed in Saudi Arabia in 2018. Subsequent analysis by multidisciplinary researchers in 2021 estimated their age to be between 7,000 and 8,000 years. The inherent challenge in dating rock art, stemming from the absence of organic material within the carvings suitable for testing, necessitated that researchers employ alternative methods, including the analysis of associated animal bones, assessment of erosion patterns, and examination of tool marks, to ascertain an accurate creation date for these sculptures. This Neolithic dating places the carvings as considerably older than Stonehenge (5,000 years old) and the Egyptian pyramids at Giza (4,500 years old), and notably predates current estimates for camel domestication.
Distribution and numbers
As of 2010, the global camel population was estimated at approximately 14 million, with dromedaries accounting for 90% of this total. Contemporary dromedary populations consist primarily of domesticated animals, predominantly found across the Horn of Africa, the Sahel, the Maghreb, the Middle East, and South Asia. The Horn of Africa alone hosts the world's highest concentration of camels, where dromedaries play a crucial role in local nomadic lifestyles. These animals supply nomadic communities in Somalia and Ethiopia with essential resources such as milk, food, and transportation.
In Australia, an estimated population exceeding one million dromedary camels exists in a feral state, originating from animals introduced for transport purposes during the 19th and early 20th centuries. This population exhibits an annual growth rate of approximately 8%, having been estimated at 700,000 individuals in 2008. Australian government authorities have implemented culling programs, eliminating over 100,000 of these animals, partly due to their excessive consumption of limited resources vital for sheep farming.
A minor population of introduced camels, comprising both dromedaries and Bactrians, roamed the Southwestern United States following their importation in the 19th century as part of the U.S. Camel Corps initiative. Upon the project's conclusion, these animals were repurposed as draft animals in mining operations, subsequently escaping or being released into the wild. During the Cariboo Gold Rush, twenty-five American camels were acquired and subsequently exported to Canada.
As of 2010, the Bactrian camel population had diminished to an estimated 1.4 million individuals, predominantly domesticated. The Wild Bactrian camel represents the sole truly wild (non-feral) camel species globally. This species is genetically distinct and not considered the ancestor of the domestic Bactrian camel. Critically endangered, the wild population numbers approximately 950 individuals, residing in the Gobi and Taklamakan Deserts across China and Mongolia.
References
References
Notes
Bibliography
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- International Society of Camelid Research and Development
- Use of camels by South African police
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