The Endangered Camels of Mongolia


By Alejandro Llop, Contributing Photographer

In September 2017, together with the Wild Camel Protection Foundation, I traveled to Mongolia, specifically to the south, to one of the most incredible deserts on the planet, the Gobi Desert.

My job was to make a photographic report and a short documentary about the wild camel and the work that the organization is carrying out for its conservation.

If I had to define that place with a word it would be immensity. It is simply endless. You can spend a whole day in the car and not see anyone but some lonely camels wandering in the middle of nowhere.

But the most fascinating thing is to see how these creatures manage to survive and make their way before the difficulties that the desert puts on them.

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I remember seeing solitary camels in the middle of a vast horizon with the nearest oasis hundreds of kilometers away with a blazing sun just above his head and without a shadow to rest on. Despite knowing that they are adapted to live in that place, I could not explain how they could be still alive!

But in the desert you not only found big plains, but ranges of rocky mountains each with a different color and a lot of species of plants and animals. Wolves, wild goats, Ibex, gobi bears, wild camels, mongolian gerbils and even mountain lions are some of the most best-known species. Many of them in danger of extinction.

 

 

Climate change is one of the greatest causes of extinction risk for these species. The increase in temperature is making many water points disappear, on which all species depend. In search of water, wild camels compete with domestic camels, which generates critical situations with the herdsmen.

 

Management and restoration of water points, management of vegetation in the Reserves and in the grazing areas contiguous with protected areas are some of the areas in which work is being done to protect this species.

 

The wild camel.

The wild camel is a completely separate species from the Bactrian camel. This discovery is based on genetic tests carried out on hair and skin samples that WCPF has felt from both the Mongolian and Chinese deserts where the wild camel has its habitat. The separation is thought to have taken place over 700,000 years ago. In 2008 the wild camel was designated to NEW and SEPARATE species by scientists at the Institute of Population Genetics, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna.

 

Wild Camel:

 

Bactrian Camel:

 

The camels are migratory, and their habitat ranges from rocky mountain massifs to flat desert arid, stony plans and sand dunes.

Wild camels are diurnal, sleeping at night in open spaces and foraging for food during the day. Shrubs and grass form the bulk of the diet, with the animals being well adapted to feed on thorns, dry vegetation and salty plants, which other herbivores avoid. Excess fat is stored in the humps and used as a reserve when food is scarce.

There are approximately 600 individuals surviving in China and 450 in Mongolia. In contrast, there are over 2 million domestic camels currently living in Central Asia.