Lop Nur Wild Camel National Nature Reserve

Lop Nur Wild Camel National Nature Reserve (simplified, traditional, pinyin: Luóbùpō yě luòtuó guójiā jí zìrán bǎohù qū) protects one of the three remaining habitats of the Wild Bactrian camel, an endangered species. The reserve stretches around the north, east, and south of Lop Nur, a dry lake in a desert known as the "Sea of Death", and one of the most arid regions in the world. The reserve was established in 1986 by Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and has been modified over the years. The reserve is under pressure from new roads in the area, development of mining interests, and illegal hunting. The area was formerly used as China's nuclear test site. The nuclear testing caused no apparent ill effects on the camels, which continued to breed normally. After China signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 1996, the camels were reclassified as an endangered species. Since then, human incursions into the area have caused a sharp drop in the camel population.

NatureReserve data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).