Monitoring Country
Camel
- Scientific name: Camelus dromedarius
- Other common names: One-humped Camel, Dromedary Camel
Camels are one-humped mammals that are well-adapted to living in desert environments. While they are a domesticated breed, they are considered a feral species in Australia.
Feral Camels are a threat to healthy Country
Camels harm Country because their grazing behaviour can be destructive, including selective browsing on rare and threatened flora, trampling native vegetation and damaging waterways, leading to:
- Water pollution and changed water flows
- Decline or loss of native plant species
- Soil compaction and erosion
Damage to vegetation and waterways is particularly bad during drought (dry) years.
Feral Camels also compete for food resources with native grazers like kangaroos and other marsupials.
Under the Australian Pest Animal Strategy, Camels are considered an Existing Pest Animal of National Significance. There is a National Feral Camel Action Plan.
Managing Feral Camels
Total eradication of Feral Camels will be difficult to achieve because there are so many of them and they move large distances across the more remote parts of Australia.
Feral Camel management includes protecting important areas like waterways and native vegetation with fencing. However, the main control methods for Feral Camels currently are ground culling by trapping and mustering at water points and aerial culling.
Where they live
Occurrence Records
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Where they live
Camels were introduced to Australia as domesticated animals by early European colonisers, but when camels were replaced by vehicles, up to 10,000 camels were released into the bush. There are now estimated to be about 1 million camels and they are found across most of the arid (dry) parts of Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland, including the Great Sandy, Gibson, Great Victoria and Simpson deserts.
Habitat
Camels are found in most habitat types in the semi-arid and arid (dry) parts of Australia, including sandplains and dunes, shrublands, grasslands and salt lakes. While camels can survive for long periods without drinking water, they are often found trampling, fouling, muddying, drinking, grazing and browsing in desert waterpoints.
What they look like
Camels are up to 2 meters tall, sandy coloured and have one hump on their backs. Camels have rounded, cushioned hooves that are adapted to walking on soft sand.
Image of Camel and hoof print
What they eat
Camels forage for a wide variety of native vegetation but have a preference for trees, shrubs and salt-tolerant plants, which include a number of Threatened species.
Better understand:
REMEMBER! Any time you do work that might disturb or interfere with native animals and vegetation, particularly threatened species, you need to check with the state authorities to see if you need any approvals, such as licences or animal ethics committee permits. Click here for links to your state’s websites.
You can monitor Feral Camels to:
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Better understand where they are and aren’t on Country
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See how many Feral Camels live on Country
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Check how well management of Country and Feral Camels is working
By using one or more the following methods, you can better understand Camels on your Country. If you monitor the same place at the same time every year, you can see if there are changes to Camels on Country.
2 Ha Plot: Tracks, Scats, Diggings & Signs Survey
A good way to monitor Camels is by searching 2 ha areas for all signs of Camels, including tracks and scats. The survey is used to find signs of lots of different animals, not just Camels. This survey doesn’t need specialised equipment but it is useful to have some tracking skills.
What can you learn?
Presence/absence – if and where Camels live on Country
Occupancy - If enough plots surveyed, the presence/absence data can be used to estimate occupancy. This type of modelling helps to work how many places really have Camels, even if they weren’t detected at every plot. This can be used as an indicator of how large the population might be and if is getting smaller/bigger over time.
Activity - how many signs of Camels were detected during the survey. This can be used as an indicator of how large the population might be.
Using it the Right-way
You can learn more about the 2 Ha Plot method on the “How we check on things” page and in the Standard Operating Procedure 2 Ha Plot: Tracks, Scats, Diggings & Signs Survey
Aerial Surveys
This is a method where a helicopter or small aircraft is flown over a large area of Country to look for Feral Camels. You can use this method to monitor how many Feral Camel there are and where they are living on Country.
Any time you do work that might disturb or interfere with native animals and vegetation, check with the state authorities to see if you need any approvals.
VIEW PERMIT INFO
2 Ha Plot: Tracks, Scats, Diggings & Signs Survey
This is a method where trackers search a 2 hectare (Ha) area for all signs of animals, including tracks, scats, diggings and other signs. Signs can include:
· tracks
· fur or feathers
· …
Camera traps are widely used in wildlife conservation to monitor animal presence, the number of sightings over time, and animal behaviour. They can be set to automatically take photos or videos when an animal is detected. Most camera traps use passive infrared (PIR) sensors that trigger the camera when an …
Primary sources
This landing page was developed using the following sources:
Primary sources
This landing page was developed using the following sources:
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Saalfeld, W.K., Edwards. G.P. (2010). Distribution and abundance of the feral camel (Camelus dromedarius) in Australia. The Rangeland Journal 32:1-9. https://www.publish.csiro.au/rj/pdf/RJ09058
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Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (2010). National Feral Camel Action Plan: A national strategy for the management of feral camels in Australia. Commonwealth of Australia: Barton, ACT. https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/invasive-species/publications/national-feral-camel-action-plan
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PestSmart (2024). Feral Camels. https://pestsmart.org.au/toolkits/feral-camels/
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Northern Territory Government (2024). Feral Camel. https://nt.gov.au/environment/animals/feral-animals/feral-camel
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Saalfeld, W.K., Edwards, G.(2008) ‘Chapter 2: Ecology of feral camels in Australia’. In Managing the impacts of feral camels in Australia: a new way of doing business (DKCRC Report 47) (Eds. G.P. Edwards, B. Zeng, W.K. Saalfeld. P. Vaarzon-Morel, M. McGregor). Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre: Alice Springs, NT. https://www.nintione.com.au/resources/rao/chapter-2-ecology-of-feral-camels-in-australia/
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Box, J.B., McBrunie, G., Strehlow, K., Guest, T., Campbell, M., Bubb, A., McConnell, K., Willy, S., Uluru, R., Kulitja, R., Bell, B., Burke, S., James, R., Kunoth, R., Stockman, B. (2016). The impact of feral camels (Camelus dromedarius) on remote waterholes in central Australia. The Rangeland Journal 38:191-200. https://www.publish.csiro.au/rj/pdf/RJ15074
Tools and resources
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Record Feral Camel sightings and activity on the FeralScan app: https://feralscan.org.au/otherpests/default.aspx
Tools and resources
No additional tools or resources found.