The two-humped Bactrian camel lives in the highlands of central Asia, where it feeds on prickly scrub and salty water. It is able to store water in its stomach chambers and in fat reserves in its humps. The wild bactrian camel is critically endangered with an estimated 950 animals left. The bactrian camel that you see in all zoological collections is a domesticated form, there are an estimated 1.4 million domesticated bactrian camels. The bactrian camel was first domesticated in an area of Iran, Afghanistan and Turkestan around 2500 years ago. Fossil records show evidence of ancestors of the bactrian camel living in North America some 30 million years ago, some growing to 3.5 meters! The bactrian camel permenantly migrated for North America to Eurasia around 8,000 years ago. The domestic bactrain camels that we have at Knowsley Safari Park can grow to 2 meters tall at the hump and weigh up to 725kg. they are herbivores eating grass, leaves and grains and can drink up to 120 litres of water at a time. The bactrain camel can live up to 50 years. The bactrian camel is welll adapted to life in the desert with wide spread toes to help spread the animals weight over soft sand. They also have nostrils that they can open and close, hair lined ears and two rows of eyelashes that protect sensitive areas from blowing sand. The bactrian camel has thick fur and underwool that helps to keep the animal warm in the cold winter and desert nights and also helps to insulate against the daytime heat of the desert.

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