Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
wild Bactrian camel
References
Images
Four Bactrian camels with shaggy brown coats stand on dry grassland in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia, with rolling hills in the background. A group of Bactrian camels grazes on green vegetation in the Gobi Desert, with large sand dunes rising in the background. World map showing the geographic ranges of camelid species, with color-coded outlines for each: alpaca, llama, guanaco, and vicuna ranges are marked in South America; Arabian camel or dromedary in parts of Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia; domesticated Bactrian camel across Central Asia; and wild Bactrian camel in a small area of East Central Asia. Australia is shaded for introduced dromedaries.
Britannica AI Icon

wild Bactrian camel

mammal
Also known as: Camelus ferus, wild camel
Written by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last updated

Quick Summary

Four Bactrian camels with shaggy brown coats stand on dry grassland in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia, with rolling hills in the background.
Mongolia: Bactrian camels Wild Bactrian camels in the Gobi, southern Mongolia.

The wild Bactrian camel (Camelus ferus) is one of two species of Bactrian camels, distinguished by its two humps. It is native to limited areas in China and Mongolia. Wild Bactrian camels are smaller and lighter than their domesticated counterparts, with pyramid-shaped humps.1

These mammals are well-adapted to arid environments, capable of surviving long periods without food or water by utilizing fat stored in their humps for energy. They possess adaptations such as closable nostrils and long eyelashes to protect against dust. Bactrian camels are primarily herbivores, consuming a wide variety of vegetation, even thorny or dry plants.12

The wild Bactrian camel is critically endangered due to habitat degradation, hunting, and hybridization with domesticated camels. Fewer than 1,000 individuals are estimated to remain.13

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
3 Britannica Sources
  1. Bactrian camel
  2. livestock farming - Camels
  3. camel

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.