Chiru vs Dromedary Camel

Pantholops hodgsonii compared with Camelus dromedarius

Key Differences

• Chiru is Near Threatened while Dromedary Camel is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Chiru	Dromedary Camel
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Mammalia (Mammals)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order same	Artiodactyla (Even-toed Ungulates)	Artiodactyla (Even-toed Ungulates)
Family	Bovidae (Bovids)	Camelidae (Camels)
Genus	Pantholops	Camelus (Camels)
Species	Pantholops hodgsonii	Camelus dromedarius

Evolutionary Relationship

Chiru and Dromedary Camel share a common ancestor at the Order level: Artiodactyla. (Even-toed Ungulates)

Conservation Status

Chiru

NT — Near Threatened

Dromedary Camel

NE — Not Evaluated

Population: ~15.0M

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Chiru	Dromedary Camel
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	40 years
Average Length	—	2.3 m
Average Weight	—	600.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Chiru

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

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.

Chiru

The Chiru (Pantholops hodgsonii), also known as the Tibetan Antelope, is a bovid endemic to the Tibetan Plateau and adjacent high-altitude grasslands of China, with small populations in India. Males bear long, slender, nearly vertical horns that can exceed 70 centimetres in length, while females are hornless. The species is highly adapted to life at elevations of 3,700–5,500 metres, possessing a dense, fine underfur known as shahtoosh — one of the finest animal fibres in the world — which provided insulation against extreme cold but also made chiru a prime target for illegal poaching. Massive hunting pressure during the late twentieth century for shahtoosh shawl production devastated populations, which fell to as few as 75,000 individuals. Following intensified conservation efforts, trade bans, and anti-poaching patrols in China, numbers have partially recovered, though the species remains Near Threatened. Chiru are highly migratory; females undertake remarkable annual migrations of up to 300 kilometres to reach calving grounds in the Chang Tang plateau. Males typically remain at lower elevations year-round. They graze on grasses, sedges, and forbs, and face ongoing threats from climate change affecting high-altitude pasture productivity and from infrastructure development fragmenting migration corridors.

Dromedary Camel

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