Wild Camel
Camelus ferus
Wild Camel (Camelus ferus): The Gobi Survivor That Drinks Salt Water
The wild camel is the last truly wild camel on Earth, a separate species from the domestic Bactrian camel. Roughly 1,000 survive in the deserts of north-west China and south-west Mongolia, where they can drink salt water saltier than the sea. It is Endangered, and the only captive breeding programme is a pair of small breeding centres in the Mongolian Gobi.
- Habitat
- Stony Gobi plains, sand deserts, rocky hills and salty springs
- Size
- Adults about 1.9-2 m at the shoulder, roughly 460-640 kg
- Diet
- Tough desert shrubs and grasses such as saxaul, tamarisk and reeds
- Range
- Lop Nur, Gashun Gobi and Taklamakan (China); Great Gobi A (Mongolia)
- Conservation
- Endangered (IUCN 2025), about 780-1,380 mature animals
- In captivity
- About 40 in two Mongolian breeding centres (2025); none in zoos, says WCPF
Habitat & range
Wild camels once roamed the deserts of Central Asia far more widely. Today they survive in only three separate areas: the Lop Nur and Gashun Gobi region and the Taklamakan Desert in north-west China, and the Great Gobi A Strictly Protected Area in south-west Mongolia (Mammalian Species 2026; Springer 2025). The WCPF estimates about 600 in China and 450 in Mongolia (WCPF). It is one of the harshest homes of any large mammal. Temperatures run from about -40 C in winter to over 50 C in summer, rain is rare, and many of the springs are salty (WCPF; Springer 2025). The camels are nomads, and GPS-collared wild camels in Mongolia covered an average of about 2,800 km a year (Springer 2025). A border fence between Mongolia and China now blocks most crossings between the two populations (CMS).
Not a runaway Bactrian
For years critics claimed wild camels were just domestic camels gone feral. DNA proved otherwise. Scientists at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna showed the wild camel is a separate species, Camelus ferus, and mitochondrial DNA puts the split from the domestic Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus) at about 0.7 to 2.3 million years ago (WCPF; Mammalian Species 2026). The domestic Bactrian camel did not descend from it. You can tell them apart by shape. The wild camel is smaller and slimmer, with slender legs, narrow feet, a flatter skull and small, low, pointed humps. Its coat is short and sandy (Springer 2025). The Mongolian name khavtgai means flat-head (ZSL). Domestic Bactrians have big floppy humps and a shaggy coat.
Drinking the undrinkable
In parts of China where there is no fresh water, wild camels drink salt water with a higher salt content than sea water. Domestic Bactrian camels cannot tolerate it, and scientists still do not know exactly how the wild camel copes with the salt (WCPF; ZSL). The same population survived decades at Lop Nur, which China used as its nuclear test site, and went on breeding naturally (WCPF). Like other camels, wild camels store fat, not water, in their humps, and they can walk long distances with a pacing gait that moves both legs on one side together (Mammalian Species 2026).
The breeding centres in the Gobi
In 2003 the Wild Camel Protection Foundation (WCPF), with the Mongolian government, fenced a breeding centre at Zakhyn Us, in the buffer zone of the Great Gobi A reserve. It was named the Hunter Hall breeding centre after its sponsor, and by 2004 it held 12 wild camels caught by Mongolian herders. Four calves were born that year (WCPF; John Hare; WCPF Newsletter 12). By 2021 the herd had grown to 45 and the site was full (John Hare). In September 2024 a group was trucked about 350 km to a second site, the John Hare Wild Camel Breeding Centre at Toli Bulag (WCPF 2025). Each May the camels are let out with satellite collars to graze in the buffer zone. Mothers and newborn calves are now kept inside for at least a year, because wolves kill young calves (WCPF 2025). The WCPF calls this the only wild camel breeding programme in the world. About 40 wild camels live in the Mongolian centres, and 26 were held in captivity in China in 2022 (Mammalian Species 2026).
Where zoos come in
The camels you see in zoos are domestic Bactrian camels. According to the WCPF, no zoo anywhere keeps wild camels (WCPF 2025; WCPF USA 2026). Zoos help from the outside instead. Prague Zoo advised on the Toli Bulag centre and has agreed to keep the studbook for the breeding programme. A vet from Knowsley Safari in the UK visits every April, and zoos fund staff training, calf sponsorships and a schools project near Zakhyn Us (John Hare; WCPF 2025). ZSL, Prague Zoo and WCPF also ran a camera-trap survey of 180 cameras in Great Gobi A from 2019 to 2021 (ZSL). In 2025 the IUCN moved the wild camel from Critically Endangered to Endangered. The steep decline predicted in 2008 did not happen, but the population is still small and split up. Hybridisation with domestic camels, mining, roads and shrinking water sources remain threats (IUCN 2025; WCPF). A 2026 study found domestic camel DNA in about 10-22% of the wild camels sampled in Mongolia (Jemmett et al. 2026).
Fun facts about Wild Camel
- Wild camels can drink salt water with a higher salt content than sea water, which domestic Bactrian camels cannot.
- Wild camels survived decades at China's Lop Nur nuclear test site and kept breeding naturally.
- The Mongolian name for the wild camel, khavtgai, means flat-head.
- The domestic Bactrian camel is not descended from the wild camel. Their lineages split about 0.7 to 2.3 million years ago.
- WCPF's Zakhyn Us breeding centre started with 12 wild camels in 2004 and held 45 by 2021.
Wild Camel vs Arabian Oryx (two desert rescues)
Two desert comebacks: the oryx was brought back by zoos, while the bigger wild camel is being saved by breeding centres in its own desert.
This is a comparison of two desert survivors, not a fight. They never meet: the Arabian oryx lives on the Arabian Peninsula, and the wild camel lives in the Gobi. Their rescues are very different. The Arabian oryx was saved by zoo breeding and reintroduction after it died out in the wild. The wild camel has never been kept in zoos, and its only breeding programme is two small centres beside its last Mongolian stronghold (WCPF 2025; Mammalian Species 2026). The camel is also far bigger, at roughly 460-640 kg.
Read more about Arabian Oryx.
Common questions about Wild Camel
Is the wild camel the same as a Bactrian camel?
No. The wild camel (Camelus ferus) is a separate species from the domestic Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus). DNA shows their lineages split about 0.7-2.3 million years ago (Mammalian Species 2026). The wild camel is slimmer, with smaller pointed humps and a flatter head. Its Mongolian name, khavtgai, means flat-head (ZSL).
How many wild camels are left?
Roughly 1,000. The WCPF estimates about 600 in China and 450 in Mongolia. The 2025 IUCN assessment counts about 780-1,380 mature animals (Mammalian Species 2026). They live only in three desert areas in north-west China and south-west Mongolia.
Can wild camels really drink salt water?
Yes. Where there is no fresh water, wild camels drink salt water with a higher salt content than sea water. Domestic Bactrian camels cannot tolerate it, and scientists still don't know exactly how the wild camel copes with the salt (WCPF; ZSL).
Is the wild camel still critically endangered?
No. In 2025 the IUCN moved it from Critically Endangered to Endangered (IUCN Red List). The steep decline predicted in 2008 did not happen, but the population is still small and split up, and it faces hybridisation, habitat loss and drought (WCPF).
Do zoos keep wild camels?
No zoo keeps them, according to the WCPF. The camels in zoos are domestic Bactrians. The only breeding programme is WCPF's two centres in Mongolia, which held about 40 wild camels in 2025 (Mammalian Species 2026). Zoos help from outside: Prague Zoo keeps the studbook and a Knowsley Safari vet visits every year.
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