Asiatic elephant vs Dromedary Camel

Elephas maximus compared with Camelus dromedarius

Key Differences

• Asiatic elephant is Endangered while Dromedary Camel is Not Evaluated.
• Asiatic elephant is 6.7x heavier than Dromedary Camel.
• Asiatic elephant lives longer (60 years vs 40 years).

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Asiatic elephant	Dromedary Camel
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Mammalia (Mammals)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Proboscidea (Elephants)	Artiodactyla (Even-toed Ungulates)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Camelidae (Camels)
Genus	Elephas (Asian Elephants)	Camelus (Camels)
Species	Elephas maximus	Camelus dromedarius

Evolutionary Relationship

Asiatic elephant and Dromedary Camel share a common ancestor at the Class level: Mammalia. (Mammals)

Conservation Status

Asiatic elephant

EN — Endangered

Population: ~50.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Dromedary Camel

NE — Not Evaluated

Population: ~15.0M

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Asiatic elephant	Dromedary Camel
Diet	Herbivore	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	60 years	40 years
Average Length	5.5 m	2.3 m
Average Weight	4.0 t	600.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Asiatic elephant

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 9 distinct biome types spanning the Australasia and Indomalayan and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Dromedary Camel

Habitat

Inhabits deserts and xeric shrublands within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Australia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and Sudan.

Asiatic elephant

Smaller than its African cousin, Asiatic elephants range across South and Southeast Asian forests and grasslands from India to Indonesia. Distinguished by their smaller ears, rounded back, and a single finger-like projection on the trunk tip. Deeply interwoven with Asian cultures, they have been used in religious ceremonies and as working animals for millennia. Endangered, with fewer than 50,000 remaining in the wild.

Dromedary Camel

The dromedary is the single-humped camel, domesticated over 4,000 years ago. The hump stores fat, not water.