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 Bactrian Camel
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| Camelus bactrianus Linnaeus, 1758 |
The Bactrian Camel (Camelus bactrianus) is a large even-toed ungulate native to the steppes of north eastern Asia. It is one of the two surviving species of camel. The Bactrian Camel has two humps on its back, in contrast to the single-humped Dromedary Camel.1
Nearly all of the estimated 1.4 million Bactrian Camels alive today are domesticated, but in October 2002 the estimated 950 remaining in the wild in northwest China and Mongolia were placed on the critically endangered species list.2
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History
It is thought that the Bactrian Camel was domesticated (independently from the dromedary) sometime before 2500 BC,3 probably in northern Iran, Northeast Afghanistan,3 or southwestern Turkestan.4 The dromedary is believed to have been domesticated between 4000 BCE and 2000 BCE5 in Arabia. The wild population of Bactrian Camels was first described by Nikolai Przhevalsky in the late 19th century.
Bactrian Camels have been the focus of artwork throughout history. For example, western foreigners from the Tarim Basin and elsewhere were depicted in numerous ceramic figurines of the Chinese Tang Dynasty (618–907).
Subspecies
There is some evidence that the Bactrian Camel can be divided up into different subspecies. In particular, it has been discovered that a population of wild Bactrian Camel lives within a part of the Gashun Gobi region of the Gobi Desert. This population is distinct from domesticated herds both in genetic makeup and in behavior.
There are possibly as many as three regions in the genetic makeup that are distinctly different from domesticated camels and there is up to a 3% difference in the base genetic code. However, with so few wild camels, it is unclear what the natural genetic diversity within a population would have been.
Canadian researcher William Sommers found that these wild camels had the ability to drink saltwater slush, although it is not yet certain the camel can extract useful water from it. Domesticated camels do not attempt to drink salt water, though the reason is unknown.
Conservation
The Bactrian Camel was identified as one of the top-10 "focal species" in 2007 by the Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) project.6 EDGE identifies species that are evolutionarily distinct and need better protection to prevent extinction. The Bactrian Camel was placed in the top-10 along with Golden-rumped Elephant Shrew, Sir David's Long-beaked Echidna, Hispaniolan Solenodon, Yangtze River dolphin, Slender loris, Hirola, Pygmy Hippo, Bumblebee bat, and the Long-eared Jerboa.7 There are only hundreds of them in the wild and the population is decreasing, but a large captive population had been kept.
Gallery
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 Paignton Zoo |
 Belgian Zoo |
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 A Bactrian camel “smiles” |
 Two Bactrian camels |
 Gurvansaikhan NP, Mongolia |
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 A Bactrian camel in the snow |
References
- ^ The mnemonic that allows you to remember the correct English word for each is this: "Bactrian" begins with "B", and "Dromedary" begins with "D" -- and "B" on its side has two humps, whilst "D" on its side has only one hump.
- ^ Hare (2007). Camelus ferus. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2007. Retrieved on 31 January 2008. Database entry includes justification for why this species is critically endangered
- ^ a b "camel." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 11 Feb. 2007 <[1]>.
- ^ [2]
- ^ Al-Swailem et al. 2007. Classification of Saudi Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius) subtypes based on RAPD technique.Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment Vol.5 (1) : 143-148. Online pdf
- ^ "Protection for 'weirdest' species", BBC (2007-01-16). Retrieved on 22 May 2007.
- ^ "Hexaprotodon liberiensis". EDGE Species. Retrieved on 2007-07-31.dead link
External links
- EDGE of Existence (Camelus bactrianus)dead link - Saving the World's most Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) species
- National Geographic - Wild Bactrian Camels Critically Endangered
- Wild Camel Protection Foundation
- BBC - Discovery of camels in the Gashun Gobi region
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 9 November 2008, at 15:46.
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