Bactrian Camel
Camelus bactrianus
Overview
The (domesticated) Bactrian camel has two humps and thick sandy-coloured wool coats, although it can also be dark brown or white.
Shoulder height ranges from 1.6m to 1.8m tall, and total height including the humps may reach up to 2.3m tall. Bactrian camels weigh between 300kg and 1,000kg. Males may be up to 20% larger than females, and are also heavier, at an average of 600kg compared to 480kg.
- Found in
- Asia
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Camelidae
- Genus
- Camelus
Conservation Status
The Bactrian camel is a domesticated species with a large and stable population, and therefore not threatened. However, the related wild Bactrian camel is Critically Endangered and nearing extinction. In captivity, the domesticated Bactrian camel acts as an ambassador species to raise awareness and funds and presents research opportunity that may benefit the wild species’ survival.
Wild Bactrian camels survive only in small fragmented herds across the Gobi desert. They are threatened by habitat loss, poaching, poisoning, disturbance from mining and infrastructure projects, and hybridisation with feral domesticated Bactrian camels. These pressures are worsened by low numbers and the remoteness of its range, which makes monitoring and rapid response difficult.
Conservation focuses strongly on habitat protection and anti-poaching patrols. Additionally, a captive-breeding facility is providing population insurance. Some organisations also focus on community outreach to reduce hybridisation risks, and campaign to reduce infrastructure disturbance in key landscapes.
- Wild Population
- 2,000,000 (estimated)
- Conservation Status
- Domesticated
Animal Facts
- Bactrian camels are not born with humps. They start developing once a camel calf begins eating solid food.
- Camels have long eyelashes and nostrils that can fully close to protect themselves in sandstorms.
- The Bactrian camel's two humps are made of fat and are built up during times of plentiful food, then shrink as they sustain the camel through times when food is sparse.
- Bactrian camels are not fussy about what they eat; they can eat thorny, tough and bitter vegetation, carrion and will also eat tents, rope, clothes and other items when very hungry.
- Bactrian camels were domesticated 4000 years ago in the steppes of Central Asia; they are farmed as pack animals and for their milk and wool.
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Social & Reproduction
Camels are social animals, living in harem groups in the wild comprised of a dominant male, several female mates and their offspring. The dominant male leads the herd in their migrations. Bachelor males live solitarily or in 'bachelor herds' until they acquire their own harem of females.
Bactrian camels are a domesticated species, though some herds are kept semi-wild and display their natural mating behaviours.
The mating season in Bactrian camels is in March and April, but because camels are induced ovulators, breeders may also use artificial insemination to choose another time for conception. During the natural mating period, the dominant male in a harem will mate with all adult females and may be violent towards other males.
Female Bactrian camels are pregnant for about 13 months and give birth to 1 calf, though twins occur occasionally. Calves nurse from their mothers for up to 1.5 years.
The young remain with their mother and herd until between 3 and 5 years old, which is also when sexual maturity is reached, and then leave to establish or join an unrelated herd.