[The camels] are blown to pieces and picked up as meat

John Hare, Wild Camel Protection Foundation

The animal survives in this inhospitable area by drinking water from salty springs. Most of the camels live on a former nuclear weapons testing range.

But human incursions have now raised concern for the creature's survival. There are thought to be fewer than 1,000 of the camels, making them more endangered than the giant panda.

The news of the camel's discovery was announced at the meeting here of the United Nations Environment Programme's (Unep) governing council.

Dynamite danger

Unep is providing funds for the animals' home, the Arjin Shan Lop Nur nature reserve, which lies in the Kum Tagh sand dunes on the edge of the Tibetan mountains.

The area is in China's Xinjiang province, and was used by the Chinese for testing nuclear weapons from 1955 until 1996.

Since then people have been entering Lop Nur, and some have taken to planting dynamite and other explosives around the water holes where the camels come to drink.

The camels have lived in the area from time immemorial, but it is only recently that their unique identity was suspected.

Genetic tests on camel samples collected by a Sino-British team in 1999 have found significant variations between the animals and their domesticated cousins.

Distinctive kneecaps

The only visual difference is that the Chinese animals have their humps further apart than other Bactrians, and are said also to have hairier kneecaps.

The joint expedition leader is John Hare, founder of the UK-based Wild Camel Protection Foundation. He said: "The scientists doing the genetic tests have found a 3% difference in the base pairs between the domesticated and these wild Bactrian camels.

When people think about charismatic wildlife, they too often tend to think about animals like the tiger or the cheetah

Robert Hepworth, Unep

"You have to remember that there is only a 5% difference between man and chimpanzees. So these wild camels may be a different species never domesticated by humans.

"The remoteness of the area has helped preserve them. But with the cessation of nuclear tests, illegal hunters and miners looking for gold and iron ore are moving in. We found land mines put by the salt water springs.

"So when the camels come to drink they step on them, bang! They are blown to pieces and picked up as meat."

The team conducting the genetic tests hope to publish their results soon.

One of the team leaders is Professor Olivier Hanotte, a molecular geneticist from the International Livestock Research Institute in Nairobi.

Breeding programme

He said: "There are two possibilities here. One is that the domestic camel was bred from these wild ones some time back in history.

"The second is that the domestic camel we see today was bred from another species that has disappeared. This would mean that these wild camels are a totally separate species."

The number of animals at Lop Nur is estimated, from surveys and interviews with local herdsmen, at about 600.

There are thought to be a further 300 identical camels in the Gobi desert in Mongolia, and 15 animals in captivity.

John Hare said: "If the camels become extinct, then we do not have the numbers or the genetic diversity among those in captivity to guarantee a successful captive breeding programme. That makes them more endangered than the giant panda."

There are hopes nevertheless that the wild camels could breed with domesticated ones, to pass on their ability to withstand harsh environments and the physiological stress of drinking salt water.

The camels live in China's Xinjiang Province