Wild Bactrian Camel

The wild Bactrian camel (Camelus ferus) or simply the wild camel 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 years ago. Currently, there are only around 950 wild Bactrian camels. Most live on the Lop Nur Wild Camel National Nature Reserve in China, and a smaller population lives in the Great Gobi A Strictly Protected Area in Mongolia. 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 Dunhuang Xihu Wild Camel Nature Reserve) contiguous with the reserve in Qakilik (2001) and a reserve in Mazongshan contiguous with the reserve in Mongolia, all in China. == Name == The species was originally considered a subspecies of the domestic Bactrian camel and named C. bactrianus ferus in reference to the region of Bactria, a wider geopolitical area of ancient South-Central Asia where wild Bactrian camels (C. ferus) were once widespread. The name ferus means…