Wild Camel

Bactrian Camel, a monotypic species, a giant ungulate, with no valid subspecies.

Wild camels are good at running, agile, quick to react, and have a very strong sense of smell. Some people believe that they rely on their sense of smell to find water in the desert, or they may rely on their unique genetic memory. Active during the day, they walk with a firm step and a proud stride, but they are timid and alert. They are usually gentle, but they will spit out saliva and stomach contents when angry. Although they can survive in the desert, they still prefer places near water sources and lush green grass. They often concentrate on the banks of rivers formed in the rainy season, where red willows, sea buckthorns and various wild grasses grow lushly. Only when enemies threaten their survival will they hide in the vast sea of sand.

Wild camels have a variety of foods. The desert plants such as ridge grass, wolfsbane, reeds, and camel thorns that grow in the desert are all food for camels to fill their stomachs. The four-chambered stomach has a strong ability to store and digest food. When resting, it can spit out the food in the stomach and regurgitate it. Wild camels are also very thirst-resistant and can live normally without drinking water for a long time. They just gradually lose weight, but after drinking water, they can fully recover within a few hours. The mechanism of wild camels' thirst tolerance has not been fully understood. It is generally believed that there are several reasons: First, in the presence of water, they can drink more than 10 kilograms at a time and store it in the bladder in the stomach; second, there is a special protein in their plasma that can maintain the water content in the plasma; third, their nasal mucosa has a large area, which can prevent water loss; fourth, their body temperature varies by 6°C during the day and night, so they can control water consumption by regulating their body temperature. In addition, their skin rarely sweats; they urinate less; their feces are dry and contain very little water; they breathe less and never open their mouths to breathe, etc. Therefore, they can go without water for several days in summer and even for dozens of days in winter. In places where salt water springs and fresh water coexist, wild camels prefer to drink water from salt springs, which not only replenishes water but also provides the salt needed by the body.

Wild camels generally live in groups. In summer, they live in scattered families. In autumn, they start to form groups of five or six, or about twenty, and sometimes even more than a hundred. When walking in the desert, adult camels walk in front and behind, and young camels line up in the middle. They often forage for food and water along several fixed routes, which are called "camel trails".

Wild camels are "polygamous" during the breeding season, that is, each population consists of a male camel, several female camels and underage young camels. They have fixed activity areas, not long-distance migration as previously speculated. Once male young camels reach the age of two, they are expelled from the population and go to other populations to compete for dominance. After fighting and survival of the fittest, only those who survive can adapt to the harsh living environment. January to March every year is the mating season for wild camels. When males fight, they mainly stretch their heads between the legs of the other party, trip the other party and then bite it with their mouths. At this time, wild camels acting alone are often seen, and they are often the losers in the courtship fight. There are also cases where males in mating run to the domestic camel group and mate with female domestic camels. Females reproduce once every two years, with a gestation period of about 400 days. They give birth in March and April of the following year, with 1 to 2 cubs per litter (rarely 2 cubs). The cubs can stand 2 hours after birth and can follow their parents on the same day. The cubs stay with the mother for 3 to 5 years. They reach sexual maturity at the age of 4 to 5 years.

As a unique species, wild camels have become more rare wild animals on the earth than giant pandas. According to a survey by Chinese and foreign scientists, there are less than 1,000 wild camels left in the world, and they only exist in the extremely small "isolated island" area of Xinjiang, Gansu and the desert Gobi border between these two provinces (regions) and Mongolia. Since the wild camels in the Gashun Gobi area in the north of Lop Nur are far away from domestic camels, they are recognized as the only pure gene wild Bactrian camel population in the world, with extremely high scientific research and protection value. In June 2003, with the approval of the State Council of China, the Lop Nur Wild Camel Nature Reserve was upgraded to a national nature reserve.

Listed in the "China Species Red List": Endangered (EN).

Listed in China's "National Key Protected Wildlife List": National First-Class Protected Animal (effective December 10, 1988).

Listed in the IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered (CR), assessed in 2008.

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Origin: China, Mongolia.
Regional extinction: Kazakhstan.
Distribution range: from the Taklimakan Desert in southeastern Xinjiang, northwestern Qinghai, and northwestern Gansu into the Gobi Desert in Inner Mongolia; extending into Mongolia and Central Asia.
Inhabits dry steppes, mountain deserts, semi-deserts, and arid shrublands. Distribution altitude can exceed 4,000 meters.

The wild camel is tall and slightly thin, with a small head and a scent gland at the back that secretes black smelly liquid. The snout is short and the upper lip is split into two flaps, like a cleft lip. There are valves in the nostrils that can be opened and closed at will, which can not only ensure smooth breathing, but also prevent wind and sand from entering the nostrils. The water flowing out of the nose can also flow into the mouth along the nasal groove. The ear shell is small and round, with dense fine hair inside to block the wind and sand, and the ear shell can be folded tightly. There are two rows of long and dense eyelashes outside the eyes, and double eyelids. Both eyelids can be opened and closed separately, so that clear vision can be maintained in the diffuse sand and wind.
The neck is long and curved like a goose neck. The hair on the back protects the skin from the scorching sun. The tail is relatively short and has short fluff. There are two small meat humps on t