Abstract Despite agricultural intensification and the use of advanced technology, camels still play a vital role in the livelihoods of millions of households in more than 90 arid countries. Modern research methods, primarily molecular genetic ones, make it possible to clarify some important aspects of the biology of these amazing animals. Most of the evolution of camelids since the Eocene (about 45 million years ago) took place in North America, from where about 6.5–7.5 million years ago the ancestors of the Old World camels crossed the Bering Land Bridge into Eurasia and Africa and spread widely across these continents. There are currently three types of camels: the domesticated one-humped Camelus dromedarius Linnaeus, 1758; the two-humped C. bactrianus Linnaeus, 1758, whose wild ancestors became extinct; and the only remaining wild Bactrian camel, C. ferus Przewalski, 1878. The first description of this animal as a species was given by N.M. Przhevalski during his second journey to Central Asia in 1878. For specialists, the differences in the structure and general appearance, behavior, and habits of wild and domestic camels have always been clearly visible, which in recent years has been confirmed by genetic research. Currently, the range of wild camels consists of four separate areas, with a total area of about 110 000 km2. In Mongolia, this is the territory in the Trans-Altai Gobi; in China, Gashun Gobi in Gansu province, the Taklamakan desert in Xinjiang, and the area of Lop Nur Lake. According to expert estimates, in 2008 the number of animals was approximately 1250 individuals, of which 700 lived in China and 550 in Mongolia. One of the main reasons for the reduction of the species' range and its numbers was the anthropogenic factor. This is not just poaching. Mining, other industrial and infrastructure development, increasing livestock numbers, and the loss of “free” water sources are leading to the fragmentation and degradation of wild Bactrian camel habitats. The wild camel was listed in the first edition of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, prepared in 1966 by the Species Survival Commission. Until recently, it was listed there as an endangered species. The governments of Mongolia and China pay great attention to the protection and conservation of the wild Bactrian camel, creating specially protected natural areas on their territories: Zone A of the Great Gobi Nature Reserve in Mongolia and three protected natural areas in China (Lop Nur National Nature Reserve for the Conservation of Wild Camels, West Lake Dunhuang National Nature Reserve, Gansu Annanba National Wild Camel Nature Reserve). To increase the population of wild camels and prevent their extinction, as well as to study them, breeding centers were established—two in Mongolia and one in China. Successful breeding in them made it possible to release camels into the wild to restore natural populations. The conservation of the wild camel within its entire species range can only be ensured with the support of the global conservation community and through international cooperation by establishing a transboundary Mongolian–Chinese nature reserve in Gansu Province and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China, adjacent to the southern borders of the Great Gobi Nature Reserve in Mongolia. A comprehensive conservation program is also needed, including regular and fundamental research into the structure and dynamics of populations, reproductive physiology, and a number of other aspects using a unified methodology in Mongolia and China; the study and improvement of habitats with the restoration of water sources; the implementation of long-term monitoring; the prevention of hybridization with domestic camels, which threatens the gene pool of the wild camel population, as well as to reduce the risk of exchange of parasites and diseases; the implementation of a number of biotechnical measures, especially in areas where breeding females congregate, to protect young from wolf attacks; the creation of new and the expansion of existing protected natural areas by integrating suitable habitats into them; and increased support from the local population, including control of illegal hunting.

The Wild Camel (Camelus ferus Przewalski, 1878) of Central Asia

期刊论文
发表日期：

2025年12月1日

查看全文

A. A. Lushchekina,
T. Yu. Karimova,
V. M. Neronov

摘要

Abstract

Despite agricultural intensification and the use of advanced technology, camels still play a vital role in the livelihoods of millions of households in more than 90 arid countries. Modern research methods, primarily molecular genetic ones, make it possible to clarify some important aspects of the biology of these amazing animals. Most of the evolution of camelids since the Eocene (about 45 million years ago) took place in North America, from where about 6.5–7.5 million years ago the ancestors of the Old World camels crossed the Bering Land Bridge into Eurasia and Africa and spread widely across these continents. There are currently three types of camels: the domesticated one-humped Camelus dromedarius Linnaeus, 1758; the two-humped C. bactrianus Linnaeus, 1758, whose wild ancestors became extinct; and the only remaining wild Bactrian camel, C. ferus Przewalski, 1878. The first description of this animal as a species was given by N.M. Przhevalski during his second journey to Central Asia in 1878. For specialists, the differences in the structure and general appearance, behavior, and habits of wild and domestic camels have always been clearly visible, which in recent years has been confirmed by genetic research. Currently, the range of wild camels consists of four separate areas, with a total area of about 110 000 km². In Mongolia, this is the territory in the Trans-Altai Gobi; in China, Gashun Gobi in Gansu province, the Taklamakan desert in Xinjiang, and the area of Lop Nur Lake. According to expert estimates, in 2008 the number of animals was approximately 1250 individuals, of which 700 lived in China and 550 in Mongolia. One of the main reasons for the reduction of the species' range and its numbers was the anthropogenic factor. This is not just poaching. Mining, other industrial and infrastructure development, increasing livestock numbers, and the loss of “free” water sources are leading to the fragmentation and degradation of wild Bactrian camel habitats. The wild camel was listed in the first edition of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, prepared in 1966 by the Species Survival Commission. Until recently, it was listed there as an endangered species. The governments of Mongolia and China pay great attention to the protection and conservation of the wild Bactrian camel, creating specially protected natural areas on their territories: Zone A of the Great Gobi Nature Reserve in Mongolia and three protected natural areas in China (Lop Nur National Nature Reserve for the Conservation of Wild Camels, West Lake Dunhuang National Nature Reserve, Gansu Annanba National Wild Camel Nature Reserve). To increase the population of wild camels and prevent their extinction, as well as to study them, breeding centers were established—two in Mongolia and one in China. Successful breeding in them made it possible to release camels into the wild to restore natural populations. The conservation of the wild camel within its entire species range can only be ensured with the support of the global conservation community and through international cooperation by establishing a transboundary Mongolian–Chinese nature reserve in Gansu Province and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China, adjacent to the southern borders of the Great Gobi Nature Reserve in Mongolia. A comprehensive conservation program is also needed, including regular and fundamental research into the structure and dynamics of populations, reproductive physiology, and a number of other aspects using a unified methodology in Mongolia and China; the study and improvement of habitats with the restoration of water sources; the implementation of long-term monitoring; the prevention of hybridization with domestic camels, which threatens the gene pool of the wild camel population, as well as to reduce the risk of exchange of parasites and diseases; the implementation of a number of biotechnical measures, especially in areas where breeding females congregate, to protect young from wolf attacks; the creation of new and the expansion of existing protected natural areas by integrating suitable habitats into them; and increased support from the local population, including control of illegal hunting.