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Dromedary Camel
The one-humped "ship of the desert" — Rajasthan's iconic working animal, built to cross sand and go days without water.
How to spot it
A tall, long-legged camel with a single hump and a sandy-to-brown coat. The hump stores fat, not water; long lashes, closable nostrils and broad padded feet are all built for blowing sand and hot ground.
Where it lives
In India, above all the Thar desert of Rajasthan and the dry lands of Gujarat and Haryana, where it has been a working animal for centuries. Wild dromedaries no longer exist — almost every one is domesticated.
What it eats
A herbivore that browses thorny desert shrubs, dry grasses and leaves few other animals will touch, and can go many days without drinking before taking in a huge amount of water at once.
Behaviour & life
Superbly built for heat — it lets its body temperature rise through the day to save water, and its hump-fat carries it through lean times. In India it hauls loads and people, pulls carts and gives milk, and camel fairs like Pushkar are famous the world over.
In India
The camel is the state animal of Rajasthan, tended for generations by desert communities such as the Raika. Numbers have fallen sharply as machines replace it for transport, which is why camel milk and camel tourism are now promoted to keep the tradition alive.
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