John Hare, mounted on a Bactrian camel, 2011 expedition Desert of Lop, China.
John Hare and Chinese scientists on a Wild Camel survey in the Arjin Mountains in 1997, China.
John Hare with Chinese scientists on their 1997 expedition, Desert of Lop, China.
John Hare and Chinese scientists above Kum Su spring looking for wildlife. 2006, Desert of Lop, China.
2011 Expedition. Bactrian camel falls but is unhurt, Desert of Lop, China.
John Hare OBE, an explorer and conservationist and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, undertook four pioneering expeditions in 1993, 1995, 1996 and 1997, two of which used domesticated Bactrian camels, into the Gobi deserts of China and Mongolia.
The year following his initial expedition with Russian and Mongolian scientists into the Mongolian Gobi, which sparked his lifelong commitment to the Wild Camel, he met Professor Yuan Guoying, a dedicated Chinese scientist and Wild Camel conservationist. Professor Yuan invited John Hare to undertake an expedition into Wild Camel habitats in Lop Nur, Xinjiang, China. With the permission of the Chinese military, but without the knowledge of the Beijing government, John Hare entered this restricted military zone, a former Chinese nuclear test site. Professor Yuan’s brother was a General in the Chinese army, which made this unprecedented access possible.
John Hare became the first foreigner to enter China’s former nuclear test area in 45 years. The purpose of these expeditions was to research the last remaining habitats of the endangered Wild Camel in China and to explore the possibility of establishing a Wild Camel Nature Reserve, following the cessation of atmospheric nuclear testing in 1979.
This vast and uninhabited region is a saltwater desert where the salt content exceeds that of seawater. The Wild Camel has adapted to drinking this salty white slush. Remarkably, the Wild Camel survived 43 atmospheric nuclear tests carried out in this desert habitat, many of which were more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima at the end of the Second World War.
In November 1997, John Hare met international environmental lawyer and conservationist Kathryn Rae, who agreed to assist him in establishing a UK charitable foundation to protect the species. Together they founded the Wild Camel Protection Foundation and became its two Managing Trustees.
The sole aim of the Wild Camel Protection Foundation is to prevent the extinction of the unique wild double humped camel, one of the most endangered large mammals in the world. The establishment of the Foundation was considered essential for several reasons. At the time, no national or international organization was working to protect this IUCN red listed species. The global population of Wild Camels had fallen to fewer than 1,000 individuals, and their habitat had been reduced to the Gobi deserts of south western Mongolia and north western China. In addition, in 1997 the Chinese Government agreed in principle to the creation of Arjin Shan Lop Nur Wild Camel National Nature Reserve, on the condition that the necessary funding could be secured to protect the remaining 600 Wild Camels in Lop Nur.
Since 1997, thanks to the generous support of sponsors, individual supporters, zoos, foundations, dedicated patrons and Life Patron Jane Goodall DBE, the Foundation has successfully raised the funds needed to achieve an extraordinary amount of conservation work on behalf of the Wild Camels.
