AUSTRALIA HAS A MAJOR INVASIVE SPECIES PROBLEM, AND IT’S FERAL CAMELS
Australia is a great place to visit, no matter where in the world you live. People are friendly and outgoing, the country is very large geographically with a plethora of things visitors would find fun and interesting, and it’s an incredibly unique ecosystem. Australia is unique. But it’s also home to crazy stories of invasive species. Just consider what rabbits did there! And like all continents in the modern world, the Australian continent has a literal host of invasive species creating challenges. But I’m surprise to learn from National Geographic that the worst one there now is…. feral camels.
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ONCE USED TO OPEN UP THE AUSTRALIAN INTERIOR, FERAL CAMELS POSE A SERIOUS THREAT
And it’s a major problem with no easy solution to hand. Camels weigh half a ton and can smell water from literally miles away. They also tend to group together in large herds of 10-100. And while they can survive an insane amount of time without drinking water, they like to drink as much as they can when they find it. An adult can drink an astounding 50 gallons of water a day. So where did these feral camels come from? Well, they were brought in in the 19th century to help explore and develop the Australian interior. But with roads and railroads built and in use, the 10,000 camels were suddenly unemployed and set free to roam. And breed.
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UP TO 1 MILLION FERAL CAMELS NOW ROAM 1.3 MILLION SQUARE MILES OF DRY RANGELAND
Now, there are between 100,000 and 1,000,000 feral camels roaming around 1.3 million square miles of dry rangeland. That’s why no one really knows how many feral camels there are in the wild, as that’s a lot of land area, and female camels can live up to 40 years in the wild and give birth every 2 years. That translates to the population possibly doubling every 9 years. And these feral camels are a threat to ranchers, aboriginal people, native species, water supplies, buildings, infrastructure, etc. And while there’s demand for camel meat and camel milk for export, many think the easiest solution is culling.
To see one cattle farmer’s battle against feral camels, go to Jack Carmody’s YouTube channel, Jack Out The Back.
