What animals are camels related to?

Camels belong to a group of mammals called the camelids (family Camelidae), and their closest relatives might surprise you.

The main animals they’re related to are:

• Llama
• Alpaca
• Guanaco
• Vicuña

All of these animals are part of the same family as camels, even though llamas and alpacas live in South America while camels are native to Africa and Asia.

The ancestors of camels actually evolved in North America millions of years ago before spreading to Asia and South America.