Drought Puts Wild Australian Camels in Firing Line

The population of wild camels in Australia has dwindled to 750,000 in recent years due to drought conditions and culling but the population may not be low enough.

Once there were 1 million feral camels in Australia, which were introduced to the continent in the 1800s.

The Australian Feral Camel Management Project said Tuesday that the camel population roaming the outback has been reduced by a quarter, compared with levels experienced between 2001 and 2008.

“Since then, however, there has been a major drought, the feral camel management program has come into effect and population survey techniques have been improved. These are the main reasons overall feral camel numbers have been revised downward,” said Jan Ferguson, a manager with the Ninti One nonprofit, which manages the Camel Management Project.

Australia considers the animals pests because of their adverse affect on local flora and fauna. Camels will feed on most available plant species including eating young shoots and preventing reproduction.

“Feral camels can quickly degrade these areas during a drought to the point where they may no longer provide any refuge for native plants and animals, perhaps leading to the local extinction of these species,” according to a government fact sheet.

They also drain scarce water resources.

“We know that when they herd, they can converge on a natural waterhole used by native animals, and drink it dry within days,” Ferguson said. The camels can walk dozens of miles per day and hundreds within a week in harsh terrain.

With their sheer numbers and their ability to “eat almost anything,” the group said the damage they cause is estimated at around $5.5 million per year. Also, they compete with livestock for food and water, which impacts production to the tune of $3.5 million per year.

Feral camels also damage property infrastructure, particularly fences, windmills, and water troughs and can carry diseases harmful to cattle.

The camels roam a 1.3 million square-mile area in parts of Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, and the Northern Territory.

Ferguson said that around 85,000 of the beasts have been culled, which entails removing breeding camels based on certain criteria.

According to government reports, Ninti One proposed removing 670,000 camels over four years in 2009, and another 500,000 camels in the following four years in order to reduce the density of feral camels.

The group said that when camels were introduced to Australia, they played a role in the development of Central Australia because they could transport people and supplies over long distances through the outback.

But over time, the camels were able to breed unchecked because they have no natural predators—the largest land-borne carnivore is the dingo, a large wild dog.

Aboriginal Australian sites of importance have also been damaged by the animals, including waterholes, rock holes, springs, and other places.

“Many of these sites are sacred, and damage to them constitutes damage to the social and cultural life of Aboriginal people,” the project said.

There have also been several deaths and injuries due to vehicle accidents caused by the camels.

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