Critter Capsules #3! Wild Camel

The Wild Camel (Camelus ferus)! Now if you’re anything like me, you were taught that there are indeed two kinds of camel. Dromedary Camels with one hump, and Bactrian Camels with two. Maybe you were even taught a fun way to remember the difference, because ‘D’ has one hump and ‘B’ has two! Fortunately for camel lovers everywhere, such is not the case! There is a third species, the elusive Wild Camel! Endemic to northwestern China and Mongolia, it’s body and humps are smaller and thinner than the Bactrian, as well as having much less hair. It has a distinctive flat head (in Mongolian it’s known as the Havtagai, which means ‘flat-head’), and can survive on water saltier than actual seawater, a feat matched by no other mammal in existence! Unfortunately for camel lovers, however, is that these amazing animals are critically endangered, with only about 1,000 individuals living in the wild today. Conservation efforts are ongoing, so let’s hope we can continue having three different species of camel forevermore.