Camels in Australia

Not being from Australia I was somewhat surprised when I had learned just a couple weeks ago that there were Camels in Australia.  Granted I had never really given much thought to this particular idea but at the same time Australia, even in the outback, is not exactly where I expect to find Camels.  I was even more intrigued when a conversation was brought up about the Camels in Australia and how there is a rumour of ongoing studies showing that this introduced species may also be serving a potential benefit benefit which intrigued me even more. Therefore, I thought it only made sense to research this topic some more.

The camels were introduced into Australia in the 1800’s.  They were brought in to assist in the discovery and exploration of Australian land as they were more efficient and cost effective compared to what a horse, mule, or ox was capable of (Big Black Dog Communications Pty Ltd 2009).

The negative impacts of introducing the camel, like many introduced species were unknown at the time of introduction.  With the current estimated population size of about one million camels in Australia the impacts include environmental, social and economic issues (Government of South Australia 2013).  According to the Government of South Australia, that population size is expected to double within the next 10 years (2013). 

Through just browsing the internet I found multiple sites advertising camel rides and safaris provided throughout Australia for the most part.  Being that there is a market for this tourism attraction one potential benefit is from an economic perspective.  There are currently at least one hundred camel farms throughout Australia providing multiple purposes (Paroz 2008).  Services provided by the farms are camels for export, meat, tourism and weed control (Paroz 2008).  Therefore, I was able to find some information tying camels to an environmental benefit of grazing upon areas which contain woody, prickly weeds that are not generally consumed by other animals.  While camels will eat a variety of vegetation such as these woody weeds, camels are found to be ineffective when it comes to consuming these weeds when they are mixed with thick vegetation (Paroz 2008).

Camels, while an introduced species, appear to provide some slight benefits such as weed control but at the same time they also contain the negative impacts as seen by many introduced species.  However, being that such economic gain has come from the camels, it is highly unlikely to see them disappear any time soon.  There are a few methods of control in place for the camels under the State Feral Camel Management Project per the Government of South Australia (2013), which is a joint effort exercising various methods of control.  Some methods include funding for enclosures, and harvesting (Government of South Australia 2013).

References:

Creators Big Black Dog Communications Pty Ltd, 2009, Australian Government, viewed 24 May, 2014, http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/afghan-cameleers

Government of South Australia, 2013, Biosecurity SA, South Australia, viewed 19 May 2014, http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/biosecuritysa/nrm_biosecurity/pest_animal/pest_animal_programs/management_of_feral_camels

Paroz G., 2008, Pest animal risk assessment, Queensland Government, Queensland, viewed 24 May, 2014, http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&ved=0CEoQFjAF&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.daff.qld.gov.au%2F__data%2Fassets%2Fpdf_file%2F0009%2F71010%2FIPA-Camel-Risk-Assessment.pdf&ei=iWOBU6e2F8fJkwWL4oGQCA&usg=AFQjCNEjpX2IwpE2I0U0Ip8ghHuDYrjLPA&bvm=bv.67720277,d.dGI