The Wild Bactrian camel (Camelus ferus) is a critically endangered species of camel living in East Turkestan and southwestern Mongolia. It is closely related to the Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus). Both are large, double-humped even-toed ungulates native to the steppes of central Asia. Until recently, wild Bactrian camels were thought to have descended from domesticated Bactrian camels that became feral after being released into the wild. However, genetic studies have established it as a separate species which diverged from the Bactrian camel about 1.1 million years ago.
Distribution
Currently, only about 1,000 wild Bactrian camels are living in the wild. Most live on the Lop Nur Wild Camel National Nature Reserve near the border with China proper to the East.