Camels are even-toed ungulates in the genus Camelus that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on their backs. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provide food (camel milk and meat) and textiles (fiber and felt from camel hair). Camels are working animals especially suited to their desert habitat and are a vital means of transport for passengers and cargo. There are 3 surviving species of camel. The 1-humped dromedary (Camelus dromedarius) makes up 94% of the world's camel population, and the 2-humped Bactrian (Camelus bactrianus) makes up 6%. The wild Bactrian camel (Camelus ferus) is a separate species and is now critically endangered.
The word "camel" is also used informally in a wider sense, where the more correct term is "camelid", to include all 7 species of the family Camelidae: the true camels (the above 3 species), along with the "New World" camelids: the llama, the alpaca, the guanaco, and the vicuña, which belong to the separate tribe Lamini. Camelids originated in North America during the Eocene, with the ancestor of modern camels, Paracamelus, migrating across the Bering land bridge into Asia during the late Miocene, around 6 million years ago.
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