Australia has the largest feral camel population in the world, and they are spread across 3.3 million square kilometres of Western Australia, Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland.
Image: Markalark/iStockphoto
Better and more accurate survey figures have been released today by the Australian Feral Camel Management Project (AFCMP) that now places the number of feral camels roaming the outback at about 750,000.
Australia has the largest feral camel population in the world, and they are spread across 3.3 million square kilometres of Western Australia, Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland.
Jan Ferguson, the Managing Director of Ninti One Ltd, which manages the AFCMP, says "Between 2001 and 2008, it was estimated that there could have been as many as a million feral camels in the outback.
"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 downwards.”
The AFCMP has in the past three years been able to double the original survey range to 500,000 square kilometres of the higher density feral camel areas, in which 350,000 feral camels were directly sighted.
“In effect, the work undertaken as a result of the AFCMP has given scientists greater confidence in being able to estimate more accurately the total number of feral camels in Australia.
"Contributing to the lower population number was the high mortality rate among feral camels during the drought, and the fact that feral camels had been removed humanely under the ACFMP, Ms Ferguson said.
“The number of feral camels removed to date under the AFCMP is about 85,000," she said.
Dr Glenn Edwards, a leading Australian wildlife scientist with the NT Government and author of key scientific reports on feral camels said: “Our latest monitoring has yielded a more detailed picture of the population and distribution of this large feral pest animal in Australia, provided extensive evidence of the damage it is causing and highlighted the benefits to the natural landscape, industries and communities of camel removal.
“The latest population estimate has a greater degree of accuracy because we have been able to double the survey area and refine the data analysis method,” he said.
Ms Ferguson says feral camel density is still unacceptably high in some areas and more control work is required.
“The AFCMP has been using a sophisticated satellite tracking process to follow the movement of around 50 feral camels fitted with special collars. For the first time, we can accurately plot where the camels are moving across different landscapes, over what distances, and in what timeframes.
"This has given us a vivid picture of what we are dealing with. Feral camels can travel 70 kilometres in one day, and hundreds of kilometres within a week, over incredibly harsh terrain.
"We know that when they herd, they can converge on a natural waterhole used by native animals, and drink it dry within days.
"This has a devastating effect on the local flora and fauna and shows exactly why we need to control the population density of these animals.
“The AFCMP’s 19 partner organisations will take part in another comprehensive and relatively simultaneous aerial survey around most of these same biodiversity precincts in 2013, to again assess the density of the camel populations in these areas.
“The new figures released demonstrate the work of an excellent collaboration between local landholders, Aboriginal communities and agencies from five different governments to tackle a national problem over a vast proportion of the continent,” Ms Ferguson said.
Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here. |
