Wild Bactrian Camel

The wild Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus) a two-humped ancestor of domesticated camels, is now considered “critically endangered” according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), a non-profit conservation organization based in Cambridge, England.

Perhaps only 950 wild camels survive in their native desert habitat of northwest China and Mongolia—many of them in a remote, harsh desert area that was, until recently, a Chinese nuclear test range. The reclassification of wild Bactrian camels to “critically endangered” status in October 2002 places the camel in the same category as the panda, a standing that reflects the increasingly precarious position of that small population.

“This means that the wild population of Bactrian camels is on the brink of extinction,” said Craig Hilton-Taylor, a program officer with the IUCNs endangered species listing project. “If it continues declining at the current rate, we will lose it.”

Observations made during five field expeditions starting in 1993 by John Hare and the United Kingdom-based Wild Camel Protection Foundation suggest that the surviving populations may be facing an 80 percent decline within the next three generations.

“I’m sorry, of course, that the situation is so critical,” said Hare, citing the new designation of wild Bactrian camels to critically endangered status. “But I’m also glad, because hopefully this change of status will increase awareness of this remarkable animal’s plight.”