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The wild Bactrian camel (Camelus ferus) is an endangered species of camel endemic to Northwest China and southwestern Mongolia. It is closely related but not ancestral to the domestic Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus). Genetic studies have established it as a separate species which diverged from the Bactrian camel about 0.7–1.1 million ...
The Bactrian camel shares the genus Camelus with the dromedary (C. dromedarius) and the wild Bactrian camel (C. ferus).The Bactrian camel belongs to the family Camelidae. [1] [5] The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle was the first European to describe the camels: in his 4th century BCE History of Animals, he identified the one-humped Arabian camel and the two-humped Bactrian camel.
Dromedary camels, bactrian camels, llamas, and alpacas are all induced ovulators. [8] The three Afro-Asian camel species have developed extensive adaptations to their lives in harsh, near-waterless environments. Wild populations of the Bactrian camel are even able to drink brackish water, and some herds live in nuclear test areas. [9]
Camels are a type of even-toed ungulate of the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on their back. The two surviving species of camel are the dromedary , one-humped camel (C. dromedarius) of Middle East and Horn of Africa ; and the bactrian , or two-humped camel (C. bactrianus) of Central Asia .
The nuclear testing caused no apparent ill effects on the camels, which continued to breed normally. After China signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 1996, the camels were reclassified as an endangered species. [4] Since then, human incursions into the area have caused a sharp drop in the camel population. [5]
The Bactrian camel is, as of 2010, reduced to an estimated 1.4 million animals, most of which are domesticated. [42] [155] [163] The Wild Bactrian camel is the only truly wild (as opposed to feral) camel in the world. It is a distinct species that is not ancestral to the domestic Bactrian camel.
A thirsty Bactrian camel can drink 135 liters (30 gallons) in only 13 minutes. [228] They can withstand extremely hot and cold weather and have broad hooves that do not sink in desert. Bactrian camels are known as the "boats of desert" – for millennia, they were used to carry goods along the Silk Road.
China is a signatory country to the CITES and the national government's protected species list generally follows the designation of endangered species by CITES, but also includes certain species that are rare in the country but quite common in other parts of the world so as not to be considered globally threatened (such as moose and beaver) or ...