Xinjiang reports increasing endangered wild camels

URUMQI, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region said Thursday that the number of endangered wild Bactrain camels has increased to 650.

Cameras have captured an increasing number of the wild animals at several water sources in the Altun Mountains, said Cheng Yun, who works for the Xinjiang Lop Nur wild Camel National Nature Reserve.

As of November 2018, the population of wild Bactrain camels reached around 600.

Cheng said the increase of population is attributed to the steadily improving environment and the reduction of human activities.

Protective measures including strengthening monitoring, investing more into wild camel protection and banning tourism and expeditions in the nature reserve have also helped the restoration of the wild camels.

Bactrian camels are the last remaining wild camels of any type in the world. Experts estimate that around 880 wild Bactrian camels lived in the harsh deserts of China and Mongolia in the 1990s.

The Bactrain camel is listed as critically endangered on the Red List of Threatened Species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.