Bactrian Camel
Scientific Name
Geographic Range
Diet
About This Animal
Bactrian camels are large, desert-dwelling animals with two humps (dromedary camels have one). Mature Bactrian camels can be 7 feet tall and weigh 1,800 pounds.
The Gobi Desert in Central Asia, where they live, has an extreme climate with freezing winters and hot summers. These camels have adapted to their conditions with thick, shaggy coats that shed rapidly in large patches each spring.
Bactrian camels have almost no sweat glands, which helps them conserve fluids. They also have nostrils that close, along with bushy eyebrows and two rows of long eyelashes, to keep sand at bay. Their large, flat footpads work well on both rocky terrain and shifting sands. Did you know? These animals do not store water in their humps. The fat inside is converted into water and energy when resources are scarce. This helps as they travel long distances for food.
They breed in the winter, during rainy seasons, and have a gestation period of 360–444 days. One infant is born at a time and calves weighs roughly 80 pounds at birth and is independent after about a year.
Bactrian camels have been domesticated for thousands of years as pack animals. Less than 1,000 wild Bactrian camels (the only truly wild camels left) still exist. The population continues to decrease as a result of hunting, a loss of water oases due to drought, reduction in habitat, and competition with domestic animals.
Commitment to Care
Lincoln Park Zoo prioritizes individual well-being over everything else. Guided by scientific research, staff and volunteers work to provide the best welfare outcomes for each individual in the zoo’s care.
Support Your Zoo
Animals Depend On People Too
When you ADOPT an animal, you support world-class animal care by helping to provide specially formulated diets, new habitat elements, and regular veterinary checkups.
Wish List
The Wish List is full of one-of-a-kind items for the zoo’s animals, including nutritious snacks and enrichment items to keep them active and healthy.
Take Action With Us
Wildlife face many daunting challenges—some global, like planet-wide climate change, and some that affect individuals, like an animal ingesting plastic—but now is not the time to despair. None of these problems are too big for us to come together and solve.
