Wild Dromedary
Camelus dromedarius
🐫
Chordata
Mammalia
Artiodactyla
Camelidae
Camelus dromedarius
The quintessential “ship of the desert” with a single fat‑filled hump. Dromedaries are supremely adapted to arid environments and have accompanied human societies for millennia.
Description
Dromedaries stand about 1.8–2.0 m at the shoulder and weigh 300–690 kg; males average 400–600 kg. The single hump stores fat rather than water, providing energy reserves. Their thick lips allow them to graze thorny desert plants, and their broad pads, double eyelashes and closable nostrils protect against hot sand. Physiologically they can tolerate body temperatures from 34 °C to 41.7 °C and water losses over 30 %. Genetic studies indicate that dromedaries were first domesticated on the southeast Arabian Peninsula about 4 000 years ago. Wild ancestors went extinct roughly 2 000 years later, but domesticated herds spread across Africa and Asia through trade and migration. Today dromedaries exist only as domesticated animals (apart from feral populations in Australia).
Quick Facts
Max Mass
Shoulder Height
Standing Height
Length
Diet
Trophic Level
690
2
3
3
kg
m
m
m
Mixed Feeder
Herbivores – Grazers
Hunt History
Early hunter–gatherers in Arabia likely hunted wild dromedaries, but direct evidence is sparse because the species was domesticated early. Archaeological remains from a small island off Abu Dhabi show that domestication occurred around 4 000 years ago, and by ~3,100 years ago north‑Arabian tribes used camels for riding. After domestication, camels became central to caravan trade, providing meat, milk and transport. Their availability may have facilitated the spread of human populations into arid zones.
1. Marawah Island, UAE (~4 000 BP) – bones and carbonised dung indicate the earliest domestication of dromedary camels.
2. Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III (858–824 BC) – Assyrian reliefs depict Arabs leading dromedaries by rope, demonstrating their role as pack animals in the Iron Age.
3. Modern feral herds in Australia – tens of thousands of feral dromedaries descend from 19th‑century imports; although not ancient, they illustrate the species’ ability to thrive when re‑wilded.
Time & Range
Extinction Status
Globally Extinct
Extinction Date
Temporal Range
Region
2000
BP
Late Pleistocene
Asia
Wiki Link
Fat Analysis
Fatness Profile:
Medium
Fat %
5
Est. Renderable Fat
34.5
kg
Targeted Organs
Hump/backfat, marrow
Adipose Depots
Hump/backfat (when present), visceral; marrow
Preferred Cuts
Hump/backfat
Hunt Difficulty (x/5)
4