Conservation

The Mongolian population is estimated at less than 1,000; which is believed to be about 1.8% of the worlds' camels.

There were 161 camels in zoos in 1998.

The species has two humps - stores of fatty tissue which it can draw on as a reserve supply of food. To withstand the harsh conditions of the Gobi desert - where the wild population is now under threat, the animal has also evolved long eyelashes and muscular nostrils which can be closed to keep out sand and dust.

Its wool coat, which is shed in the summer, acts as an insulator in the winter. An adult male camel can give up to 18kg of wool per year.