Camelid Country

The Arabian Camel (Dromedary)
(Camelus Dromedarius)

The servant took ten camels from his master's herds, and also all kinds of gifts from his master; he set out for Aram-naharaim and arrived at the city where Nahor lived.

Genesis 24:10 (NEV)

Description

The arabian camel, one of the best known of the camelids, began its long association with mankind around 4,000 years ago. It was domesticated from wild stock in the South Arabian peninsula, to which its range had become restricted.

Today, the domestic arabian camel can be found in the middle east, Afganistan, parts of North West India, throughout North Africa, and as far south as Kenya.

Although it is now extinct in the wild, there is a feral population in Australia where it was introduced between 1840 and 1907.

The camel is most at home in dry, semi-arid regions, and attempts to introduce the camel into moister climes have had limited success.

Natural Range

Map of North Africa, Central Asia, Southern Europe - from Online Map Creation

The Arabian Camel is found in most of the arid and semi arid regions of the old world: throughout the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula, in North Africa as far south as Kenya, as far east as India and Western China (western Sinkiang), and as far north as Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. As a result of export, there is also a significant feral population in Australia.

The Arabian Camel is widespread in those coutries that are uniformly arid.

In Turkey, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan, the Arabian Camel coexists with the Bactrian Camel.