It is the largest animal capable of surviving in hostile conditions, namely the desert, and enduring extreme climates, both warm and cold. The hump serves as a storage unit for fat, from which the animal can obtain its energy in the lack of resource availability. Dromedaries present also other adaptations to the desert life; for example, their body temperature rises when it’s warm, thus reducing transpiration and preserving humidity.

For many years it was thought that dromedaries store water in the hump, but this is untrue. When a dromedary drinks water, which it can do profusely in a small amount of time (135 litres in 15 minutes) a great part of the excess water is stored in the bloodflow. The red cells can expand 240% their size to take the water in.

The dromedary is a domestic species not listed on the IUCN Red List.