Dromedary Camel

     The Dromedary Camel, also known as the Arabian Camel, is a Camel species found in arid climates in the Middle East, the Horn of Africa, the Sahara Desert, and parts of India. It’s also found in Australia where a wild population has been introduced there.

     The Dromedary camel is the smallest and most widespread of the three-camel species, with a shoulder height of 1.8 – 2 m for males and 1.7 – 1.9 m for females. Its distinctive features are the long, curved neck, the narrow chest, and the single hump (compared with two on the  Bactrian Camel and the Wild Bactrian Camel ). The Dromedary Camel has also long hairs on its throat, shoulders and hump, and thick, double-layered eyelashes in addition to having bushy eyebrows.

     The Dromedary’s coat is generally a shade of brown but can range from black to nearly white. Males of this species have a soft palate (Dulaa in Arabic) nearly 18 cm long, which they inflate to produce a deep pink sac. The palate, which is often mistaken for the tongue, dangles from one side of the mouth and is used to attract females during the mating season.

     The Dromedary camel often interbreeds with the Bactrian camel to produce fertile offspring, where the ranges of the two species overlap. These hybrids are larger and stronger than their parents and they can bear greater loads. The mating season of the Dromedary camel lasts three to five months and peaks in the rainy season. A single calf is born after a gestation period of 15 months, and nursing and maternal care continue for additional one to two years.

     Compared with the Bactrian camel, the Dromedary has a lighter build, longer limbs, shorter hairs and a harder palate. Unlike the South-American Camelids, this species has a hump, and in comparison, has a longer tail, smaller ears, squarer feet and a greater height at the shoulder. Dromedary camels have been domesticated for approximately 3,500 years and have been long valued as pack animals due to their endurance and carrying abilities.