EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

One Hump or Two?

Dromedary Camel (Camelus dromedarius), Family Camelidae
Thomson's Falls, Kenya

Explanation:  Shall we gather at the waterhole?  How distinctive these beasts of burden are, and can be identified by ... one hump or two?  

Ah, one hump, so that marks the species as dromedary camels.  Their long necks, narrow chest, and the single hump distinguish them from bactrian camels of central Asia.  

But wait ... we are in southern Kenya, east Africa, not the Sahara or the Middle East.  This is dense acacia woodland, not the desert.  What are they doing here?
  

  
Well, this is not unusual habitat for dromedaries, which have been domesticated for a good two millennia.  In sub-Saharan Africa, they are used for pastoralism, in part for food production, in areas that have become too arid for agriculture.  

Dromedaries have been introduced also into Australia, where encountering herds and individuals across the outback may initially seem a little disorienting.  More surprisingly, Australia's camels number three-quarters of a million, and, as an introduced non-native species, can cause environmental problems by reducing open water for native species.  
  

A lone, heavily-laden dromedary camel that I encountered in the subtropical
scrub country in the outback of Australia, somewhere along Highway 1
between Darwin and Three Ways, Northern Territory.
  

    
Information:
     Bornstein, S. and M. Younan.  2013.  Significant veterinary research on the dromedary camels of Kenya: Past and Present.  Journal of Camelid Science 6:1-48.