A cama is a hybrid between a male dromedary

Dromedary

The dromedary or Arabian camel is a large, even-toed ungulate with one hump on its back. Its native range is unclear, but it was probably the Arabian Peninsula. The domesticated form occurs widely in North Africa and the Middle East...

 camel and a female llama

Llama

The llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since pre-Hispanic times....

, produced via artificial insemination

Artificial insemination

Artificial insemination, or AI, is the process by which sperm is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse or natural insemination...

 at the Camel Reproduction Centre in Dubai

Dubai

Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...

. The first cama was born on January 14, 1998. The aim was to create an animal with the size and strength of the camel, but the more cooperative temperament and the higher wool production of the llama.

Breeding

An adult camel weighs six times as much as a llama. So, artificial insemination is the only way to produce a live and thriving cama. Only the artificial insemination of a female llama with sperm from a male dromedary camel has been successful in producing a cama. Other combinations, such as artificial insemination of a female camel with male llama sperm, have not produced viable offspring. The cama is not sterile because, unlike other well known hybrids, the camel and the llama have the same number of chromosomes. This is not generally true for other successful livestock hybrids, such as the mule. For example, the horse

Horse

The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

 has 64 chromosomes and the donkey

Donkey

The donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...

 has 62, so when they breed it produces either a mule

Mule

A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Horses and donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes. Of the two F1 hybrids between these two species, a mule is easier to obtain than a hinny...

 or a hinny

Hinny

A hinny is a domestic equine hybrid that is the offspring of a male horse and a female donkey . It is similar to the more common mule, which is the product of a female horse and a male donkey....

, which each have 63 chromosomes.

The first cama showed signs of becoming sexually mature at four years of age, when it started to show signs of wanting to breed with the female guanaco and a female llama. At this stage, the first cama was a disappointment behaviorally, displaying an extremely poor temperament. A more recent story suggests that his behavior is generally more gentle as hoped for. The second cama, a female named Kamilah, was successfully born in 2002. Four camas have since (April 2008) been produced using artificial insemination.

Comparison of camelids

The camelid family consists of the Old World camelids (the Dromedary and Bactrian camels), and the New World camelids,  (the llama, vicuna

Vicuña

The vicuña or vicugna is one of two wild South American camelids, along with the guanaco, which live in the high alpine areas of the Andes. It is a relative of the llama, and is now believed to share a wild ancestor with domesticated alpacas, which are raised for their fibre...

, alpaca

Alpaca

An alpaca is a domesticated species of South American camelid. It resembles a small llama in appearance.Alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights of the Andes of southern Peru, northern Bolivia, Ecuador, and northern Chile at an altitude of to above sea level, throughout the year...

, and the guanaco).  Even though there have been successful and fertile hybrids within each major group camelids, this is the first time the groups have been crossbred. Following is a table comparing some characteristics of camelids.

Common Name	Scientific Name	Life Span	Adult Weight	Height at Shoulder	Length of Fur	Load Bearing Capacity
Dromedary Camel	Camelus dromedarius	40 years	450 – 648 kg (1000–1430 lb).	180 – 210 cm (6 – 7 ft).	7.5 – 10 cm (3 – 4 in).	150 kg (330 lb).
Bactrian Camel	Camelus bactrianus	40 years	450 – 648 kg (1000–1430 lb).	183 – 210 cm (6 – 7 ft).	25 cm (10 in).	150 kg (330 lb).
Llama	Lama glama	30 years		120 cm (4 ft).		59 kg (130 lb).
Vicuna	Vicugna vicugna	30 years	50 kg (110 lb).	120 – 180 cm (4 – 6 ft).	70 – 112 cm (28 – 44 in).	59 kg (130 lb).
Alpaca	Vicugna pacos	30 years		120 cm (4 ft).		59 kg (130 lb).
Guanaco .	Lama guanicoe	30 years	60 – 75 kg (132 - 165 lb).	180 – 230 cm (6 - 7 ½ feet).	70 – 132 cm (28 – 52 in).	59 kg (130 lb).
Cama	Camelus dromedarius × Lama glama

Habitat

The cama is relatively hardy and can survive with little or no water for long periods just like a camel.

Food

The cama is an herbivore and it eats shrubs, and almost any plant matter like a camel.  It can drink enormous amounts of water after a long time without water. It can also go without food for short periods.