From donkeys in Tanzania to Camels of the Sahara: Africa’s toughest animals succumbing to extreme heat

This is the last straw…

In East Africa, a donkey is always considered to be the toughest animal, capable of withstanding all forms of harsh environments.

But during the 2022-2023 drought period in northern Tanzania, even donkeys felt the heat and a number of these animals died.

Fast forward to 2026, a special BBC report reveals that, camels that are historically the toughest animals in the desert environment are also dying from intense heat.

The straw which broke the camel’s back

Even the planet’s most resilient desert survivors have started succumbing to extreme heat.

Experts say it’s like nothing the world has ever experienced before.

For centuries, camels have been celebrated as the ultimate ‘ships of the desert,’ renowned for their ability to thrive in arid environments too harsh for almost any other livestock.

However, an escalating climate crisis in North Africa and the Horn of Africa is pushing these evolutionary marvels past their biological limits.

In regions like Ethiopia’s scorching Afar desert, where summer temperatures frequently exceed 50°C (122°F), herders are witnessing unprecedented levels of suffering among their herds.

Ali Umer, a veteran local camel herder, recently reported losing eight calves in a single month to the unrelenting heat.

Umer described a horrifying reality where the animals suffer from blistered feet and watery eyes, and the sand itself becomes so intensely hot that it burns their skin and singes their hair as they rest.

This crisis is not an isolated tragedy; it represents a systemic threat to the ecological and economic stability of communities that rely on camels for transport, milk, and meat.

North and East Africa are home to approximately 80 percent of the world’s dromedary camel population, and as traditional grazing areas dry up, pastoralist families are facing catastrophic losses.

Scientists and animal welfare experts warn that prolonged temperatures above the camels’ comfort threshold compromise their immune systems, leaving them highly vulnerable to dehydration, disease, and death.

With even the hardiest desert species struggling to survive, researchers are urging immediate interventions, such as strategic water distribution and emergency veterinary care, to prevent a total collapse of the region’s agricultural backbone.

‘Even camels can’t cope: Africa’s ships of the desert hit by rising temperatures,’ the BBC report declares.

“… a study based on the perception of camel herders in southern Ethiopia, published in 2025, showed that high temperatures and climate variability had had a detrimental impact on camel herd health.”