The Bactrian camel is the only truly wild, two humped camel in the world.  It lives in the Gobi Desert and, like one humped camel, it can go for long periods without water. the Bactrian camel is named after the part of the region it inhabits, Bactrian, on the Afghan Soviet border. the first camels appeared in North America 40 - 50 million years ago, descended  from an animal the size of a small dog.  They migrated to Europe and Asia two million years ago and became nearly extinct in their original habitat.

Breeding: In the wild, Bactrian camels mate in February. The males chase off young animals in order to have success to the females.  Mating takes place while the camels are sitting down, but the females give birth in the standing position a year and a month later.  A single young is born.  Within several days, it can walk perfectly with the ambling gait that is characteristic of the adult camel.

The females nurse the young for 5 years until they reach sexual maturity.  Young males are then driven out to form bachelor herds; young females remain with their mothers.  Older wales return to the herd during mating season but are often driven out by younger, rival males.

Food & Feeding: The Like domestic cows, camels are ruminants, that is, they feed and then regurgitate the food and chew it again.  This is also called chewing cud.  able to survive on extremely sparse vegetation, they eat the tough grass, herbs, thin branches, and foliage of scrubs that grow in their arid environment.  They search for food in t he morning and evenings and chew their cud in the afternoon.

The camel can tolerate great variations in its body temperature, from 86º F to 105º F, and therefore loses little water through camels can go for long periods without water., they do not actually store it in their humps.  The humps are, in fact, reserves of fat that are converted into water when the camel becomes dehydrated.

Camel  & Man:  It is thought that the Bactrian camel was domesticated by man as early as 2,000 BC it is presumed to be a descendant of the feral camel.  At the end of the nineteenth century, Bactrian camels were discovered in the Lobnor Desert in China by the Russian Explorer, Nikolai Przewalski's, and it was established that, in its natural state, the Bactrian camel is truly a wild, rather than domesticated, animal. The camel is also an important source of wool, milk, meat, and fuel in the desert..

Habitat:: Once found over a vast range in Asia, Bactrian camels now inhabit only Mongolia's remote Gobi Desert. they are specially adapted to cope with the extremes of climate found in this regions.  They form small groups of six to twenty animals that are led by a mature male. Young males spend most of their time wandering alone.  Within their habitat, the camels may be found in desert, semi desert, grassy steppes and mountainous regions up to 6,500 feet.  In the summer, they are most likely to be found in dry valleys and on nearby hills.  During the winter, they frequent dried up creek and stream beds and oases.

Key Facts: Sizes, Weight, breeding, lifestyle, related Species

Height to shoulder: 6 ft
Height to hump :  Up to 7 ft.
Weight : Up to 7 ft
Length: 11 - 12  ft, including tail (21 - 25 foot long)

Breeding:
Sexual Maturity:  5 years
Gestation: About 13 months
No of young: 1 calf
Breeding season: July - September
Mating: February

Lifestyle:
Diet: Grasses nd shrubs.
Life span: Longest recorded, 50 years.
Habit: Females live in small herds with 1 male. Other males solitary.
Call: Low grunts.

Related Species: The one humped camel, Camels dromedaries. Camellia is the only family in the suborder Tylopoda.
Distribution: In its wild state, it is found only in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. In a domesticated form, it is also found in Afghanistan, Turkey, the Solviet Union, and China.
Conservation: There are thought to be less than 1,000 wild camels living in the obi Desert. It is now considered an endangered species.

Special Adaptations of the Bactrian Camel:
Humps: Two conical shaped.  These store food and water reserves  stored as fat.
Nostrils: can be closed in a sandstorms.
Legs: Comparatively short for walking on hilly rocky ground.
Fleece:  Thick, woolly fleece to combat cold in winter and reduce perspiration.  Kept in summer  to act as protection against sun.
Eyelashes: long, in double rows to protect eyes from windblown dust and sand.
Feet: Soles have thick, elastic pads which expand to distribute animals weigh.  They help to support camel in soft sand.

Did you know:
A Bactrian camel can drink quantities up to 30 percent of its body weight at one time.
In the desert, without water, a camel can survive up to the times as long as a human and four times as long as a donkey.
Camels do not like wet conditions, but they can tolerate variations in temperature ranging from -16º f to 120ºF.
Males, females, and young camels are known respectively as stallions, mares and calves.
In 1860,  fifteen Bactrian camels were imported to the United States to haul salt across 200 miles of desert.