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Bactrian camel
"A camel can drink as much as a hundred litres of water in one go."
Discover in real lifeHabitat
left in the wild only in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia and China
Food
grasses, herbs and thin twigs of shrubs and trees
Lifetime
20 years, but sometimes 50 years
Weight
300 to 600 pounds
Number of youngsters
1 to 2 youngsters
Wear time
12 to 13 months
IUCN Status
no
EEP?
no
Left! Right!
Camels walk in a “parallel gate”. That means they first move their front and back leg on one side of their body forward and then move the other side. A lot of animals with long legs do this, for instance the giraffe. The long legs of the camel help them to survive in the desert. Their legs keep their body further away from the hot sand and the wind can flow underneath. They also have large, wide feet so they don’t sink into the loose desert sand.
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Theme area: On the Move
You can see the camel in the ‘On the Move’ theme area. Here, you’ll discover how animals move and why moving – or, conversely, staying still – is important for survival.
Wild?
Animals that have been kept and bred by humans for a long time, are called “domesticated”. Sometimes these animals still look a lot like their wild family members, but often they don’t. Think about cows or dogs. With the Bactrian camel you can’t easily tell the difference. But biologists have found out there are two distinct species. In zoos you only see the domestic camel, Camelus bactrianus. The wild camel, Camelus ferus, is endangered and now only lives in the Gobi Desert in China.