- Status: Critically endangered
- Known as: Bactrian Camel
- Estimated numbers left in the wild: less than 1,000
- Diet: Herbivore (feed on plants)
Description
One of the strangest-looking land animals of our era, the Bactrian camel is a large, ungulate (hoofed mammal) with two large humps on its back, expanded feet for walking on sand, and a long, curved neck.
They are very large, standing 1.8 to 2.3 meters tall at the summit of their humps and weighing from 300 to 1,000 kilograms (males being much larger than females on average).
Their bodies show many adaptations to their dry environment, including the humps (which are composed of fat, not water), nostrils which can be closed to exclude sand, long eyelashes to protect the eyes from windblown grit, and large, flat, two broad toes that support them on the sand and harsh desert conditions.
A massive callus on the chest allows them to rest on hot sand without risking burns to their skin. The neck often sports a spectacularly thick, shaggy mane. Despite their ungainly looks, they can run as swiftly as a horse.
The endangered wild Bactrian camel (Camelus ferus) is a camel that lives in northwestern China and southwestern Mongolia’s grasslands. It is a descendant of the Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus). Both are large with two humps and even-toes ungulates from central Asia’s steppes.
The two subspecies of the wild Bactrian camel are the one that lives in China and the other that lives only within Mongolia.
The Bactrian is smaller than its cousin (the Bactrian camel), with more fur on its humps. It also has a wider body, shorter legs, and a bigger head.
Origins
The origins of this species have been a mystery for quite some time. Wild Bactrian camels were previously thought to have evolved from domesticated Ones that escaped confinement when released into the wild.
On the other hand, genetic research has shown it to be a distinct species that diverged from the Bactrian camel approximately 1.5 million years ago. It is now listed as critically endangered.
The wild Bactrian camel is classified as “critically endangered.” This animal has declined sharply over the past 60 years due to hunting, habitat loss, and competition with domestic livestock for fodder. Less than 1,000 are thought to remain in the wild today.
Bactrian camels are also known as “Two-Hump Camels” since they have one set of hump on either side of their body, and hundreds of Bactrian camels now live wild in China, having been tamed by people during the Silk Road era.
These long-necked animals can reach up to 6 feet tall and grow 14 feet long. They are closely related to the dromedary, Arabian, and Siberian camel.
Bactrian camels are pale yellow with a dark brown band running along their back, a wooly coast, and two other bands on either side of their body, which meet at the base of the camel’s hump.
They eat around 12 pounds of food daily and drink great amounts of water, and Bactrian camels, as a wild species, can go without water for up to 10 days.
See Related: How to Become an Environmental Activist
Behavior
Bactrian camels are extremely social creatures. They are known to be pack animals, living in herds of at least six individuals. They follow each other’s movements closely and communicate by touch and smell: they can pick up smells from over three-quarters of a mile away.
While Bactrian camels are primarily active during the day, they will also move in the early morning and late afternoon when the heat is at its worst.
Bactrian camels have webbed feet which protect them from sinking into the sand. They also have two humps, the first of which contains fat and is used for energy storage when food is scarce.
The Bactrian camel can go without food or water for several days.
See Related: Conservation vs Preservation
Difference Between Wild Bactrian Camel and Domestic Bactrian Camel
The wild Bactrian camel (Camelus ferus) is distinguished from the domestic Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus) by its browner coat color, larger skull, longer limbs, and thicker mane.
Bactrian camels are easily domesticated animals that humans have widely utilized throughout history. They are still used as beasts of burden in territories where highway transportation is limited or nonexistent.
Domestic camels have also been used to carry water over long distances in desert areas, a practice that remains widespread today.
The wild Bactrian camel is endangered, with less than 1,000 left. As a result, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed it as critically endangered.
Wild Bactrian camels are extinct in their Bactrian homeland and nearly extinct in Mongolia, but they still exist in large numbers across China’s northern borders.
However, domesticated camels have been used to transport or carry heavy loads for Bactrian people. This is still true in remote parts of Mongolia, China, and Afghanistan.
Bactrian camels are utilized as a resource for camel hair, dung (used as fuel or construction materials), and meat production.
Finally, Bactrian camels can harm Bactrian ecosystems by overgrazing in Bactrian arid seasons, particularly with little rainfall.
See Related: World’s Largest National Parks
Bactrian Camel Habitat
Bactrian camels are adapted to the Central Asian deserts, surviving extremes of heat, cold, and dryness that would kill most other animals.
One of their most remarkable adaptations is their ability to survive for weeks without drinking, as long as there are some plants to eat to absorb water.
However, once water is available, wild camels can drink as much as 135 liters within a quarter-hour. They eat mostly grasses and shrubs.
They will eat dry plants with a bitter or salty flavor in preference to other vegetation. These tough animals can survive temperatures ranging from -30 C to 38 C or hotter.
See Related: Different Animals That Can’t Jump
Breeding
Like other flat, arid desert species and those in similarly harsh environments, most Bactrian camels only give birth to one kid at a time after a twelve to fourteen-month pregnancy.
Two calves can occasionally be born. Up to twenty camels may live in a flock, although some herds have as many as thirty members. Young males stay with their mothers for as long as three years. Males only join the Bactrian camel flocks after reaching sexual maturity at about 5 or 6 years of age.
Their main natural predator is the grey wolf, which mostly attacks injured, sick, or weak individuals, especially those weakened by weather and dehydration.
Bactrian Camel Location
Small Bactrian camels still survive in Mongolia, China, and Kazakhstan’s Mangistau Province. These camels favor desert environments such as the Gobi Desert, including dunes, sand or gravel plains, arid hills, and high, dry mountain massifs.
Bactrians Camel Intelligence
The Bactrian camel is highly intelligent and may remember a face for many years after seeing it once. The Bactrian camels I’ve encountered were very nice, and I enjoyed scratching their necks.
The Bactrian camel is incredibly interested, frequently approaching individuals to look at them or sniff at their clothing.
See Related: Best Environmental Organizations in the UAE
Facts About the Wild Bactrian Camel
Bactrian camels are daytime sleepers who spend much of their nights exploring the world and gathering food for themselves. They can go without water for months and, when it does become available, drink up to 15 gallons at once.
Despite this, the hump of a camel is considered to be frail. Instead, they offer a source of energy-dense fat for camels to draw on in times of need beyond calorie reserves for energy storage.
According to their website, the Wild Camel Protection Center will get another facility in 2020 to capture wild camels in Mongolia.
Many Bactrian camels spend their time browsing for food, exploring new territory, or gathering with Bactrian fellow camels at night.
They spend much of the day curled up, sleeping on their feet or all fours.
- Camels are extremely intelligent creatures that use their Bactrian intelligence to communicate with other Bactrians through sound that humans can’t hear.
- Bactrians are highly sensitive creatures that require great care and affection from people they bond with.
- They enjoy being petted by humans, particularly around the nose and neck area, where they have the most nerve endings.
- A camel’s hump is mostly made of fat which it uses as an energy source in times of Bactrian need. Bactrians store calories as energy when food is scarce, allowing them to survive without water or food for several months. Bactrian camels have two humps.
- When Bactrians become dehydrated, their red blood cells grow larger, preventing Bactrian blood from becoming too thick and flowing slowly through Bactrian blood vessels and cells.
- This type of camel is one of the few species that can tolerate heavy saline water and Bactrian saltwater lakes, making them incredibly resilient to harsh desert environments.
- Bactrian camels are typically found in arid grasslands, deserts, salt lakes, bogs, shrublands, sandy loess steppes, Bactrian semi-deserts/steppes, Bactrian subalpine grasslands, and savannas.
- The Bactrian camel is an exceptionally social animal that forms lifelong friendships with other Bactrians in their herd.
- This type of camel is very protective of its young, and Bactrians will fight to the death to keep them safe from predators. At only two days old, Bactrians can already stand on their feet and can nurse.
- When Bactrians are scared, they flail their Bactrian legs around to deter predators.
See Related: Best Conservation Posters
Conservation of the Wild Bactrian Camel
Wild Bactrian camels are critically endangered. They are one of the most at-risk species on the planet, with less than 1,000 Bactrian camels estimated to be left in the wild.
In 2020, The Wild Camel Protection Center will establish another facility to attempt to collect Bactrian camels in Mongolia on its website. This is fantastic news since it indicates that individuals are attempting to save wild Bactrian camels.
However, before wild camels can be restored to their former state, much more work must be done before Bactrian camels can be considered safe.
Hope is not lost, however! If humans continue to work towards their conservation, there is still hope for Bactrian camels in the future. They must work fast since wild Bactrian camels are critically endangered right now.
Many of us love wild Bactrian camels, so contributing to these conservation efforts is our best interest.
History of cross-breeding of dromedary camels and Bactrian camels
The need to create stronger pack camels capable of traversing harsh terrain and colder weather was the major cause of dromedary camels and Bactrian camels cross-breeding.
The Ottoman army used hybrid camels greatly because of their huge payloads of 400–500kg and their ability to endure cold and rugged terrain.
During the Ottoman assault on Austria in 1529, thousands of camels were used, with scores engaged in battle to avoid an Ottoman defeat.
Current-day cross-breeding of dromedary camels and Bactrian camels
In eastern Turkey, and more significantly in the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, as well as Uzbekistan, today’s hybridization of camels is occurring.
The goal of the hybridizations is to acquire huge camels for winter wrestling competitions held in the southeast corner of Turkey (Kakralarn, Kazakhs, and Russia). The Bactrian camel is a unique creature that lives in the harsh climates of Central Asia.
Threats
Bactrian camels face several threats, including habitat loss and competition with livestock for severely restricted resources. Farmers have been known to shoot animals on occasion.
Climate change also puts wild Bactrian camels at risk by making weather more extreme and reducing the number of oases in their natural range. This makes dehydration or wolf fang attack more likely.
To save Bactrian camels on the brink of extinction, we must conserve them as much as possible and prevent further loss. Unfortunately, their numbers are currently too low for recovery to be feasible.
Camels that migrate searching for grazing land may compete for food and water with introduced domestic cattle and are sometimes shot by farmers due to the expanding human population.
Conservation efforts
Thanks to a collaborative effort between the Chinese and Mongolian governments and the Wild Camel Protection Foundation, two huge Gobi desert reserves have been established for the species.
A captive breeding program is now underway to further populate the Gobi desert reserves.
Organizations
If you know of or are part of an organization that works to conserve the Bactrian Camel, please contact us to have it featured on Our Endangered World.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Where are Bactrian camels found?
The Bactrian camel is found in desert regions of central Asia, as well as in Iran, Afghanistan, and Mongolia.
How many Bactrian camels are left in the world?
The domestic Bactrian camel is not endangered; there are around 2 million Bactrian camels left in the world. Domestic camels have been successfully reintroduced to countries such as Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, from which they had been hunted into endangerment, with populations also re-established in Iran and Uzbekistan. The domestic Bactrian camel is currently classified as the least concerned species on the IUCN red list.
How many Bactrian camels are left in the world?
The domestic Bactrian camel is not an endangered animal. It’s estimated that about 875 Bactrians exist in captivity, far surpassing their wild populations roaming Mongolia, China, or Afghanistan. The wild Bactrian camel is considered critically endangered.
Is the wild Bactrian camel endangered?
The wild Bactrian camel is critically endangered, and the London Zoological Society recognizes it as the world’s eighth most endangered large mammal.
Other Species Profiles
- Andean Condor
- Western Lowland Gorilla
- Bluefin Tuna
- Scalloped Hammerhead
- Snow Leopard
- Whooping Crane
- Hawaiian Monk Seal
Related Resources