preview

Australian Camels Research Paper

Decent Essays

AUSTRALIAN CAMELS
Australia is known for their exotic animals, but one factor that has affected their beauty was the feral camels. The feral camels had caused much damage towards the native systems and land. Most natural resources, such as waterholes were ruined by them. Today, Australian camels make up the largest wild herd in the world, estimating about a million. The feral camel was originated from British India and Afghanistan for transportation. They were brought to Australia from the Canary Islands in the 1840s. As roads were built, the camels were released into the wildlife, where the population grew out. With no predators or vast sparsely, the camels are expected to increase gradually. Camels feed on 80 percent of Australia’s plant species and have caused …show more content…

They vandalized fences to air conditioners, and worth $12 million of damage annually. Much of this damage have infrastructure for humans and their business. It would cause the Australian government to cull 349,000 of them, at a rate of $17 million (Kamenev 2010). In the following of the article, an expert stated, “Camels are selective feeders with a preference for shrubs and trees rather than grasses. They can go long without needing to drink, … drink every day if water is available”("Feral Camel."). Camels can lead to extinction towards endangered animals and water droughts to the native species and humans. With their preference for shrubs and trees over grasses, camels can limit plants into extinction, too. Thirdly, Australian camels are causing degradation of the local environments, cultural sites, and they have an impact on salt lake ecosystem. Much of the natural resources of Australia are decreasing because of camels. They have used lakes and waterhole and destroyed cultural sites, as well as destroying natural parks and sacred sites. Camels are overpopulated because natural predators aren’t hunting them down

Get Access