John Hare (conservationist)

John Neville Hare FRGS (born 11 December 1934) is a British explorer, author, and conservationist, known for campaigning for preservation of the Wild Bactrian camel.

His interest in wildlife conservation began when he served in the north of colonial Nigeria, first as an army officer assigned to the Royal West African Frontier Force and later in the Colonial Service.

In 1993, he took advantage of a chance offer from a Russian scientific team to research the status of the wild camel in Mongolia – the 8th most endangered large mammal in the world. The wild camel is a critically endangered species numbering no more than 1000, and only survives in the Gobi desert in China and Mongolia. Presenting his research findings in 1994 at an international conference in Ulaan Baator, John Hare received, in 1995, permission to enter the former nuclear test site of China. where the wild camel survives. No foreigner had been allowed to enter this vast salt water desert for 45 years. It is here that the wild camel, having survived 43 atmospheric nuclear tests, is also able to tolerate salt water with a higher salt content than sea water. He undertook expeditions in 1995,1996,1997 and 1999 - two undertaken on domestic camels. In 1995 he became the first foreigner in recorded history to cross the Gashun Gobi Desert from North to South.

In 1997, John Hare with Kathryn Rae founded the Wild Camel Protection Foundation (WCPF), a UK registered charity‚ Dr. Jane Goodall DBE is the Life Patron‚ and having raised funding, put forward proposals with the WCPF co-managing trustee, Kathryn Rae, for the establishment of the Lop Nur Wild Camel National Nature Reserve in Xinjiang Province in the former nuclear test site, to which the Chinese government agreed. Measuring 155,000 square kilometres and almost the size of Bulgaria or Texas, the WCPF became responsible for helping the Chinese to establish one of the largest nature reserves in the world, protecting not only the wild Bactrian camel but many other IUCN Red Book listed endangered fauna and flora. John Hare is the sole international consultant for the Reserve.

In 2001/2002 Hare crossed the Sahara Desert from Lake Chad to Tripoli, a journey of 1500 miles, which lasted three-and-a-half months, to raise awareness for the wild camel. This route had not been followed in its entirety by a foreigner since Sir Hans Vischer negotiated it 100 years earlier. This journey was undertaken to raise funding and awareness of the plight of the wild camel.

In 2006 John Hare made the first recorded complete circumambulation by camel of Lake Turkana (Rudolph), in Kenya. At the northern tip of the lake this involved swimming 22 camels across the fast-flowing River Omo in Ethiopia.

In 2005 and 2006 he made two more expeditions into the Chinese and Mongolian Gobi deserts, on domestic Bactrian camels.In 2004 the WCPF established the Hunter Hall Captive Wild Camel Breeding Centre at Zakhyn Us in Mongolia with twelve wild camels, which had been captured by Mongolian herdsmen. This is the only place in the world where the wild camel is held in captivity apart from two zoos in China and in 2010 the population had increased to twenty-five. After sending samples of wild camel blood, hair and bone from both China and Mongolia to the Veterinary University of Vienna, a paper was published after 5 years of genetic tests on these samples stating that the wild camel was a NEW and SEPARATE species of camel which separated from any other known form of camel over 700,000 years ago and was no longer to be known as the wild Bactrian camel. The findings of this paper was accepted by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature where the wild casmel (Camelus ferus) is listed as critically endangered.

In 2013 and 2015 two successful translocation of wild camels was made from the Mongolian Wild camel Breeding Centre into the Gobi Desert.

AWARDS In 2004 John Hare was awarded the Ness Award of the Royal Geographical Society for raising public awareness and conservation of endangered wild camels in Mongolia and China.

In 1998 he was awarded an Environmental Award from the State Environment Protection Agency of China for great contribution to saving the critically endangered wild camel from extinction.

In 2004 he was awarded the Ness Award by the Royal Geographical Society for raising awareness about wild camels.

In 2004 the Royal Society of Asian Affairs s awarded him the Lawrence of Arabia Memorial Medal for exploration under extreme hazard.

In 2006 the Royal Scottish Geographical Society awarded him the Mungo Park Medal for distinguished contributions to exploration.

In 2009 appointed the sole International Consultant to the Lop Nur Wild Camel National Nature Reserve.

In 2010 he was awarded the Lowell Thomas Award by the Explorers Club of America for his dedication to protecting the critically endangered wild camel.

In 2014 awarded the Mongolian Environmental Protection Medal for outstanding contributions to wild camel protection from the Mongolian Ministry of Nature and the Environment.

In 2016 he was awarded the Mongolian Government's Friendship Medal - their highest award given to foreigners.

He has published:

Last Man In (2013) The Mysteries of the Gobi (2009)

Hijack The Dragons of Tiananmen Square Letters for a Spy Ticket to Tallinn Kwandalowa and Itiinate, Cham terracotta pots

Leopard‚ Coat. Elephant‚ Tusk Rhino's‚ Horn Tusk Force Dead Men‚ Bones Lentina and the Nine-Headed Monster To Catch a Thief One Man, Two Votes Mollo and the Fire Bugs

Twin Trouble Sleeping Giant Open-Eye Sabotage of Innocence The Mystery of Mister Prince

Sauna Ya Dawo (Hausa) Ka Koyi Karanta – Readers 4 & 5 (Hausa) The Fearless Four The Fearless Four, Hijack! The Fearless Four and the Graveyard Ghost The Fearless Four and the Smugglers

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