Wild Bactrian camel

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The wild camel (Camelus ferus) is a critically endangered

species of camel living in parts of northwestern China and Wild camel
southwestern Mongolia. It is closely related to the Bactrian
camel (Camelus bactrianus). Both are large, double-humped
even-toed ungulates native to the steppes of central Asia.[3] Until
recently, wild camels were thought to have descended from
domesticated Bactrian camels that became feral after being
released into the wild. However, genetic studies have established
it as a separate species which diverged from the Bactrian camel
about 1.1 million years ago.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

Currently, only about 1,000 wild camels are living in the Wild camel
wild.[11] Most live on the Lop Nur Wild Camel National Nature
Conservation status
Reserve in China, and a smaller population lives in the Great
Gobi A Strictly Protected Area in Mongolia.[12] There are also
populations in the Altun Shan Wild Camel Nature Reserve
(1986) in Qakilik County, in the Aksai Annanba Nature Reserve
(1992), and in Dunhuang Wanyaodun Nature Reserve (now Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Dunhuang Xihu Wild Camel Nature Reserve) contiguous with
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[2]
the reserve in Qakilik (2001) and a reserve in Mazongshan
contiguous with the reserve in Mongolia, all in China.[13] Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Name Phylum: Chordata
C. bactrianus is named after Bactria, a region in ancient central Class: Mammalia
Asia.[14] where the Bactrian camel was domesticated. The wild
Order: Artiodactyla
camel (C. ferus) and the domestic Bactrian camel (C. bactrianus)
are separate species.[15] Family: Camelidae
Genus: Camelus
Description Species: C. ferus

Wild camels have long, narrow slit-like nostrils, a double row of Binomial name
long thick eyelashes, and ears with hairs to provide protection Camelus ferus
against desert sandstorms. They have tough undivided soles with
Przewalski, 1878
two large toes that spread wide apart, and a horny layer which
enables them to walk on rough and hot stony or sandy terrain.
Their thick and shaggy body hair changes colour to light brown
or beige during winter.[3][16]
Like its close relative, the domesticated Bactrian camel, it is one
of the few mammals able to eat snow to provide itself with
liquids in the winter.[17] While the legend that camels store water
in their humps is a misconception, they are adapted to conserve
water. However, long periods without water will result in a
deterioration of the animal's health.[3]

Differences from domestic Bactrian camels

Wild camels (Camelus ferus) appear similar to domesticated Current range

Bactrian camels (Camelus bactrianus) but the outstanding Synonyms
difference is genetic, with the two species having descended
from two distinct ancestors.[18] Species Level:

There are several differences in size and shape between the two Oreocamelus ferus
species. The wild camel is slightly smaller than the domestic
Bactrian camel and has been described as "lithe, and slender- Eucamelus ferus
legged, with very narrow feet and a body that looks laterally Subspecies Level:
compressed."[19] The humps of the wild camel are smaller,
lower, and more conical in shape than those of the domestic Camelus bactrianus ferus
Bactrian camel. These humps may often be about half the size of
Oreocamelus bactrianus
those of a domesticated Bactrian camel.[20] The wild camel has a
different shape of foot and a flatter skull (the Mongolian name ferus
for a wild camel, havtagai, means "flat-head").[21] Eucamelus bactrianus
ferus
The wool of the wild camel is always sandy coloured and
shorter and sparser than that of domestic Bactrian camels.[20][22]

The wild camel can also survive on water saltier than seawater, something which probably no other
mammal in the world can tolerate – including the domesticated Bactrian camel.[23]

Behaviour

Wild camels generally move in groups of up to 30 individuals, although 6 to 20 is more common depending
on the amount of food available. They are fully migratory and widely scattered with a population density as
low as 5 per 100  km2 . They travel with a single adult male in the lead and assemble near water points
where larger groups can also be seen. Their lifespan is about 40 years and they breed during winter with an
overlap into the rainy season. Females produce offspring starting at age 5, and thereafter in a cycle of 2
years.[16] Typically, Bactrian camels seen alone are postdispersal young individuals which have just
reached sexual maturity.

Distribution and habitat

Their habitat is in arid plains and hills where water sources are scarce and very little vegetation exists with
shrubs as their main food source.[3] These habitats have widely varying temperatures: the summer
temperature ranges from 40–50 °C (104–122 °F) and winter temperature a low of −30 °C (−22 °F).
Wild camels travel over long distances, seeking water in places close to mountains where springs are found,
and hill slopes covered in snow provide some moisture in winter. The size of a herd may vary up to 100
camels but generally consists of 2–15 members in a group; this is reported to be due to arid environment
and heavy poaching. The wild camels are limited to three pockets in northwest China and some in
southwest Mongolia.[3] China spotted 39, and estimated that there were 600-650 camels in Altun Shan-Lop
Nur reserves combined, in late 2018,[24] with 48 spotted in Dunhuang reserve in 2018.[25] At the
Dunhuang and Mazongshan reserves, it had been estimated that one hundred camels exist per reserve, and
for the Aksai reserve, it was estimated that there are nearly 200, according to an earlier estimation.[13] In
Mongolia, their population was about 800 in 2012.[12]

In ancient times, wild camels were seen from the great bend of the Yellow River extending west to the
Inner Mongolian deserts and further to Northwest China and central Kazakhstan. In the 1800s, due to
hunting for its meat and hide, its presence was noted in remote areas of the Taklamakan, Kumtag and Gobi
deserts in China and Mongolia. In the 1920s, only remnant populations were recorded in Mongolia and
China.[3]

In 1964, China began testing nuclear weapons at Lop Nur, home to many of the wild Bactrian camels. The
camels experienced no apparent ill effects from the radiation and continued to breed naturally. Instead, their
habitat became a restricted military zone where human activity was kept to a minimum. After China signed
the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 1996, the camels were reclassified as an endangered species on the
IUCN Red List.[26] Since then, human incursions into the area have caused a sharp drop in the camel
population.[27]

Status
The wild camel has been classified as Critically Endangered since 2002. The United Kingdom-based Wild
Camel Protection Foundation (WCPF) estimates that there are only about 950 of them left in the world and
its current population trend is still decreasing.[28][29] The London Zoological Society recognizes it as the
eighth most endangered large mammal in the world,[21] and it is on the critically endangered list. The wild
camel was identified as one of the top ten "focal species" in 2007 by the Evolutionarily Distinct and
Globally Endangered (EDGE) project, which prioritises unique and threatened species for conservation.[29]

Observations made during five field expeditions starting in 1993 by John Hare and the WCPF suggest that
the surviving populations may be facing an 80% decline within the next 30 years.[30] According to the
International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) its status was critical in the
1960s and gradually declined to critically endangered (Criteria: A3de + 4ade) status in 2000–2004 (IUCN
2004).[3]

Threats

Wild camels face many threats. The main threat is climate change. In the Gobi Reserve Area, 25 to 30
camels are reported to be poached every year, and about 20 in the Lop Nur Reserve. Hunters kill the
camels by laying land mines in the salt water springs where the camels drink.[27] Other threats include
scarcity of access to water such as oases, attacks by wolves, hybridization with domestic Bactrians leading
to a concern of a loss of genetically distinct populations or infertile individuals which could potentially
ward off viable bulls from a large number of females during their lifetimes, toxic effluent releases from
illegal mining, re-designation of wildlife areas as industrial zones, and sharing grazing areas with domestic
animals.[26] Due to increasing human populations, wild camels that migrate in search of grazing land may
compete for food and water sources with introduced domestic stock and are sometimes shot by farmers.
The only extant predators that regularly target wild camels are gray wolves, which have been seen to
pursue weaker and weather-battered camels as they try to reach oases.[31] Due to increasingly dry
conditions in the species' range, the numbers of cases of wolf predation on wild camels at oases has
reportedly increased.[29]

Conservation

Several actions have been initiated by the governments of China

and Mongolia to conserve this species, including ecosystem-based
management. Two programmes instituted in this respect are the
Great Gobi Reserve A in Mongolia, set up in 1982; and the Lop
Nur Wild Camel National Nature Reserve in China, established in
2000.[16]
Camels in the Gobi desert
The Wild Camel Protection Foundation, the only such charity of its
kind, has as its main goal conservation of the wild in its natural
desert environment to ensure that their status does not transition to Extinct in the Wild.[12][27] The actions
taken by the various organizations, motivated and supported by IUCN and WCPF, include establishment of
more nature reserves (in China and Mongolia) for their conservation, and breeding them in captivity (as
captive females may calve twice every two years, which may not happen in the wild) to prevent
extinction.[26] The captive breeding initiated by WCPF in 2003 is the Zakhyn-Us Sanctuary in Mongolia,
where the initial programme of breeding the last non-hybridised herds of wild camels has proved a success,
with the birth of several viable calves.[16]

The wild camel was considered for introduction at Pleistocene Park in Northern Siberia, as a proxy for
extinct Pleistocene camel species.[32] If this had proved feasible, it would have increased their geographic
range considerably, adding a safety margin to their survival. However, in 2021, Bactrian camels were
introduced, but these were of the domesticated variety.[33]

See also
Animals portal

Dromedary
Camelus bactrianus, domestic Bactrian camel
List of animals with humps

Notes
1. Hare, J. (2008). "Camelus ferus" (https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/63543/12689285).
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T63543A12689285.
doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T63543A12689285.en (https://doi.org/10.2305%2FIUCN.
UK.2008.RLTS.T63543A12689285.en). Retrieved 12 November 2021.
2. "Camelus bactrianus (Bactrian camel)" (http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Camelus_bactria
nus/). Animal Diversity Web.
3. "Animal Info - Endangered Animals: Camelus bactrianus" (http://www.animalinfo.org/specie
s/artiperi/camebact.htm). Animal Information Organization. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
 4. Silbermayr, K.; Orozco-terWengel, P.; Charruau, P.; Enkhbileg, D.; Walzer, C.; Vogl, C.;
Schwarzenberger, F.; Kaczensky, P.; Burger, P. A. (2010-06-01). "High mitochondrial
differentiation levels between wild and domestic Bactrian camels: a basis for rapid detection
of maternal hybridization". Animal Genetics. 41 (3): 315–318. doi:10.1111/j.1365-
2052.2009.01993.x (https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1365-2052.2009.01993.x). ISSN 1365-
2052 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1365-2052). PMID 19968638 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.n
ih.gov/19968638).
5. Ji, R.; Cui, P.; Ding, F.; Geng, J.; Gao, H.; Zhang, H.; Yu, J.; Hu, S.; Meng, H. (2009-08-01).
"Monophyletic origin of domestic bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus) and its evolutionary
relationship with the extant wild camel (Camelus bactrianus ferus)" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.ni
h.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2721964). Animal Genetics. 40 (4): 377–382. doi:10.1111/j.1365-
2052.2008.01848.x (https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1365-2052.2008.01848.x). ISSN 1365-
2052 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1365-2052). PMC 2721964 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.go
v/pmc/articles/PMC2721964). PMID 19292708 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19292708).
6. Burger, Pamela Anna (2016-04-05). "The history of Old World camelids in the light of
molecular genetics" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4884201). Tropical
Animal Health and Production. 48 (5): 905–913. doi:10.1007/s11250-016-1032-7 (https://doi.
org/10.1007%2Fs11250-016-1032-7). ISSN 0049-4747 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0049-
4747). PMC 4884201 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4884201).
PMID 27048619 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27048619).
7. Mohandesan, Elmira; Fitak, Robert R.; Corander, Jukka; Yadamsuren, Adiya; Chuluunbat,
Battsetseg; Abdelhadi, Omer; Raziq, Abdul; Nagy, Peter; Stalder, Gabrielle (2017-08-30).
"Mitogenome Sequencing in the Genus Camelus Reveals Evidence for Purifying Selection
and Long-term Divergence between Wild and Domestic Bactrian Camels" (https://www.ncbi.
nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5577142). Scientific Reports. 7 (1): 9970.
Bibcode:2017NatSR...7.9970M (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017NatSR...7.9970M).
doi:10.1038/s41598-017-08995-8 (https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fs41598-017-08995-8).
ISSN 2045-2322 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/2045-2322). PMC 5577142 (https://www.ncb
i.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5577142). PMID 28855525 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
28855525).
8. Burger, P., Silbermayr, K., Charruau, P., Lipp, L., Dulamtseren, E., Yadmasuren, A. and
Walzer, C. (in press). Genetic status of wild camels (Camelus ferus) in Mongolia.
9. See, for example: Hare (2008) and Potts (2004)
10. Cui, Peng; Ji, Rimutu; Ding, Feng; Qi, Dan; Gao, Hongwei; Meng, He; Yu, Jun; Hu,
Songnian; Zhang, Heping (2007-01-01). "A complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the
wild two-humped camel (Camelus bactrianus ferus): an evolutionary history of camelidae" (h
ttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1939714). BMC Genomics. 8: 241.
doi:10.1186/1471-2164-8-241 (https://doi.org/10.1186%2F1471-2164-8-241). ISSN 1471-
2164 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1471-2164). PMC 1939714 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.go
v/pmc/articles/PMC1939714). PMID 17640355 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17640355).
11. "home page" (https://www.wildcamels.com/). Wild Camel Protection Foundation. Retrieved
2020-06-24. reported 1,400 in 2012, now says 1,000
12. "Wild Camel" (http://www.wildcamels.com/). Wild Camel Protection Foundation. Retrieved
9 November 2012.
13.野骆驼简介 (http://www.china-camel.com/index.php?s=/articles/698.html) (in Chinese), 中国 •
骆驼网
14. "Quick Facts about Camels' Domestication History" (https://arkbiodiv.com/2021/06/23/quick-f
acts-about-camels-domestication-history/). arkbiodiv.com. 2021.
15. Jemmett, Anna M.; Groombridge, Jim J.; Hare, John; Yadamsuren, Adiya; Burger, Pamela A.;
Ewen, John G. (22 June 2022). "What's in a name? Common name misuse potentially
confounds the conservation of the wild camel Camelus ferus". Oryx: 1–5.
doi:10.1017/S0030605322000114 (https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0030605322000114).
16. "13. Bactrian Camel (Camelus ferus)" (http://www.edgeofexistence.org/mammals/species_in
fo.php?id=8). Evolutionarily Distinct & Globally Endangered. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
17. "Video showing wild Bactrian camels eating snow" (https://web.archive.org/web/201206261
04651/http://www.arkive.org/wild-bactrian-camel/camelus-ferus/video-09b.html). Archived
from the original (http://www.arkive.org/wild-bactrian-camel/camelus-ferus/video-09b.html)
on 2012-06-26. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
18. Yi, Li; Ai, Yisi; Ming, Liang; Hai, Le; He, Jing; Guo, Fu-Cheng; Qiao, Xiang-Yu; Ji, Rimutu
(2017-05-01). "Molecular diversity and phylogenetic analysis of domestic and wild Bactrian
camel populations based on the mitochondrial ATP8 and ATP6 genes" (https://doi.org/10.10
16%2Fj.livsci.2017.03.015). Livestock Science. 199 (Supplement C): 95–100.
doi:10.1016/j.livsci.2017.03.015 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.livsci.2017.03.015).
19. Potts (2004), p. 145.
20. Bannikov, A.G. (1976). "Wild camels of the Gobi". Wildlife: 398.
21. Hare (2009), p. 197.
22. Schaller, George B. (1998-07-20). Wildlife of the Tibetan Steppe (https://books.google.com/b
ooks?id=AFGG7CKX7qQC&q=Schaller+1998+camels&pg=PR7). University of Chicago
Press. p. 152. ISBN 9780226736525 – via Google Books.
23. Hare (2009), pp. 6, 28.
24.新疆野骆驼数量实现恢复性增长目前约为 峰 600—650 (http://www.yining.gov.cn/info/1017/8
中国 伊宁
431.htm) (in Chinese), •
红外相机在甘肃敦煌拍摄到 峰规模的野骆驼种群
25. " 48 " (http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/201
8-11/18/c_1123730784.htm). Xinhua News Agency. 2018-11-18.
26. Hare (2008).
27. " 'New' camel lives on salty water" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1156212.stm).
BBC News. 6 February 2001.
28. "Wild Camels" (http://www.wildcamels.com/bactrian-camels/). www.wildcamels.com. 17 May
2010. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
29. "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species" (https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/63543/126
89285). IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
30. "Wild Bactrian Camels Critically Endangered, Group Says" (http://news.nationalgeographic.
com/news/2002/11/1126_021205_cameltrek.html). National Geographic Service News. 3
December 2002. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
31. Kara Rogers. The Last Wild Camels. Encyclopædia Britannica Blog. (Posted: February 18,
2010) (http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2010/02/the-last-wild-camels/). Britannica.com.
Retrieved on 2012-12-19.
32. Martin W. Lewis (12 April 2012). "Pleistocene Park: The Regeneration of the Mammoth
Steppe?" (http://geocurrents.info/place/russia-ukraine-and-caucasus/siberia/pleistocene-par
k-the-regeneration-of-the-mammoth-steppe). GeoCurrents. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
33. "News | Pleistocene Park" (https://pleistocenepark.ru/news/). pleistocenepark.ru. Retrieved
2021-10-09.

References
Bulliet, Richard W. (1975). The Camel and the Wheel (https://archive.org/details/camelwheel
0000bull). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674091306.
 Hare, J (2008). "Camelus ferus" (https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/63543/12689285).
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
Hare, John (2009). Mysteries of the Gobi: Searching for Wild Camels and Lost Cities in the
Heart of Asia. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84511-512-8.
Potts, D. T. (2004). "Camel Hybridization and the Role of Camelus Bactrianus in the Ancient
Near East". Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient. 47 (2): 143–165.
doi:10.1163/1568520041262314 (https://doi.org/10.1163%2F1568520041262314).
"Bactrian camel" (http://www.edgeofexistence.org/mammals/species_info.php?id=8). Saving
the World's Most Extraordinary Species. EDGE of Existence.
"Discovery of camels in the Gashun Gobi region" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/115621
2.stm). BBC. 2001-02-06.

External links
Wild Camel Protection Foundation (https://www.wildcamels.com/)
Planet Earth: "Deserts" shows footage of wild Bactrian camels from a two-month trek in the
Gobi desert. It includes a "diary" section, explaining the difficulties in obtaining the footage.
Journalist Aaron Sneddon Bactrian Camels at the Highland Wildlife Park Scotland (https://w
ww.flickr.com/photos/aaron-sneddon/sets/72157620676711291/)
Video showing Wild Bactrian camels eating snow. (https://web.archive.org/web/2012062610
4651/http://www.arkive.org/wild-bactrian-camel/camelus-ferus/video-09b.html)

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