In the early 1800s, no European male could venture across the vast Australian continent without a suitable animal capable of moving on dry and often sandy soil. In 1822, a Danish-French geographer named Malthe Conrad Bruun suggested that the camel might be the solution to this problem.

The first camel was purchased from the Spaniards on canary islands and arrived in Australia in 1840, becoming part of an expedition led by John Horrocks. Unfortunately, this animal contributed to Horroxom's accidental death - the explorer, riding a camel, was reloading his gun to shoot a bird, but the animal twitched, catching the trigger on the equipment, the gun went off and seriously injured John, from which he died 23 days later.

In 1860, 24 camels and 3 cameleers were brought from India to join Burke and Wills' expedition into the interior of Australia. The expedition was a disaster, Burke and Wills lost their lives, but the humpbacked animals showed their best side. Some camels from this expedition escaped and may have formed Australia's first wild camel population.

Having proved their usefulness, a huge number of camels were brought to the mainland. Between 1870 and 1900, over 15,000 camels and 3,000 cameleers arrived on the continent. Animals provided indispensable assistance in the exploration of the interior of Australia, the creation of the first telegraph line across the desert from Adelaide to Darwin, and the construction of the railway between Port Augusta and Alice Springs. This railway is known today as Ghan, after the cameleers who led the camels during its construction.

With the advent of motorized vehicles and railroads, camels were no longer needed, and by the 1930s most of the animals were freed. The single-humped camel was ideal for the dry Australian deserts, and the absence of predators and the presence of a good forage base, led to a rapid increase in the camel population.

In 1966, it was estimated that wild nature Australia is home to 20,000 wild camels. By 2008, their number was 500,000 individuals. The population of one-humped camels has grown so much that they are now considered a serious threat to the continent's ecosystem. Between 2008 and 2013, mass hunting of these animals was carried out, which reduced the population to about 350,000 individuals.

Camels influence environment Australia as follows:

• They eat vegetation up to 4 meters high. Many local animals are not able to get the remaining leaves of these plants.
• They move in huge herds of up to 1000 individuals, greatly depleting the vegetation, depriving the local fauna of a source of food.
• They drain and pollute water bodies, which leads to a lack of water for others. (One camel can drink 200 liters of water in less than 3 minutes).
• They destroy windmills, fences and eat vegetation intended for livestock.
• Sometimes they cause a threat of accidents on highways, railways and even runways.

Whoever hinders us will help us! With this phrase of Dzhabrail from Gaidai's "Prisoner of the Caucasus" it is best to start a story about the situation with camels in Australia. From a source of headache for local citizens, especially farmers, these ships of the desert are now gradually turning into a storehouse of stable income for Australian farmers.

Until now, it has been rightly considered that wild camels create the most extensive problem for Australia. Indeed, brought in small numbers to the Green Continent in the 1800s from India and Afghanistan as a cheap transport, camels multiplied to such gigantic sizes that there was no salvation from them. Camels in Australia turned out to be even worse than rabbits that have bred beyond measure.

The largest herd of camels in the world

They seem to harm people in small ways, although in large areas, and camels ... In some areas they destroy up to 80% of vegetation, and in a drought, the "humpbacked" ones break loose as if from a chain - in search of water, they crush everything that hits, in a matter of minutes drain artesian wells, dooming sheep and cows, and often people, to a deadly thirst.

Australians are not able to accurately count these animals. Some people are afraid that now millions of wild camels are "jumping" across the continent, others are reducing their population to a million, others to 300,000, but this number is simply prohibitive. Everyone agrees on one thing: only in Australia you can find herds of wild camels - this is not seen even in Egypt or the UAE. But the Arabs are unlikely to envy the Australians in this. Although how to know. Since 2002, Australia has been exporting camel meat to the United Arab Emirates, where it is considered a delicacy, especially the tender camel thigh fillet.

Sheikhs squint with pleasure, how delicious! The export of camel meat and even racing camels reduced their numbers in Australia, but not by much. Then the Australians approached the solution of the "camel" problem from the other side. Since 2008, these artiodactyls have been shot from helicopters. Killed by tens of thousands, sparing no cartridges. But animal advocates immediately stood up, and off we go...

Ships of the desert found a new use

Not far from Sydney, literally three hours by car towards Brisbane, there is the town of Port Stephens, nestled among the picturesque sand dunes. Entrepreneurial residents make money by riding tourists dressed as Bedouins on camels. Such an attraction provided the Australians with the opportunity to somehow use the "humpbacks", but all this is so, on trifles. Large-scale breakthrough solutions were required, and they were found.

It was then that I remembered the phrase of Comrade Dzhabrail from the most popular Soviet comedy film. The now unexpected demand for camel milk in the US can help out Australians who are heavily drunk with camels. Local farmers have already rushed to milk the camels, and it is said that milk yields are constantly increasing. Meanwhile, Americans need more and more camel milk, and the working peasantry of Australia is already seriously thinking about whether to start mass domestication of wild camels roaming the local deserts, which had never been thought of before. After all, you can make cheese, yogurt, ice cream, skin cream and much more from camel milk.

"Don't be surprised, Australia's camel milk production will increase dramatically over the next five years," predicts John Harvey, managing director of pilot animal farm AgriFutures Australia. And he adds: "It's good that we finally tasted camel milk. After all, our ancestors drank it 6000 years ago, much earlier than cow's milk. Now we are following in the footsteps of our ancestors, camel milk in Australia has great potential!"

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One of amazing facts about Australia - numerous herds of wild camels. According to various estimates, from 300 to 750 thousand wild camels live in central Australia.

Australia even exports them to the Middle East! The first 10,000 camels were brought to the Australian continent in the 19th century from the Arabian Peninsula, India and Afghanistan to transport goods.

In 1922, the number of domestic camels reached 22,000. By this time, the development of railways and roads had forced the "ships of the desert" out of the transport service, and they were left to their own devices. Camels roamed freely, multiplied and as a result firmly settled in the desert regions of the Australian continent.

In Australia, there are no predators that hunt camels, so for a hundred years, wild camels have incredibly bred - their number has doubled every year. By 2008, about a million camels lived in Australia.

Moreover, wild camel herds can only be found in Australia - there is no such thing even in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. In 2002, Australia began exporting camel meat, which is popular with Arabs, to the United Arab Emirates. Australian racing camels are valued in Arab countries.

Wild camels cause significant harm to the nature of Australia - in some areas they destroy up to 80% of all vegetation. In order for the local ecosystem to suffer, it is enough that only a few camels live on 1 square kilometer of the territory! And when a drought sets in in Australia, wild camels destroy fences in search of water, break unattended pumps, taps and even toilets.

A herd of camels does not need much time to drink all the water from a single artesian source, even if the water remains after them, it will quickly go bad. “These animals consume a lot of water, and the rest becomes rotten, even the fish cannot survive in it,” says Ian Ferguson, head of the Australian non-profit organization Ninti One.

In addition, Ferguson pointed out that camels disable windmills and roam the roads, creating a safety problem for motorists. In populated agricultural areas, the number of camels has reached 60 thousand, and they often drink water intended for sheep and cows.

The easiest, fastest and cheapest way to limit the camel population is to shoot these animals from the air.

The Australian government is currently implementing a program to reduce the number of wild camels in the country. So, since 2008, the authorities have destroyed 135,000 of these animals from helicopters, and another 25,000 have been used for commercial purposes, they were slaughtered for meat. According to experts, at that time the population of wild camels in the central part of Australia was more than 140 thousand animals.

Camels, apparently, repeated the fate of other animals brought to Australia. In all cases, the problem is the lack of predators that are able to contain the uncontrolled reproduction of "guests".

Australian Agricultural Land Surveyor Chris Turner estimates that the camel population is currently increasing by 11% per year. In 2011, about half a million of these artiodactyls walked along the sands of central, northern and western Australia, swaying their humps.

5 interesting facts about Australia

Camels, beetroot burgers, rum as currency, and Greek restaurants are little Australian quirks known only to locals or travelers who are passionately in love with the country.

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Camels have become a real disaster for Australia

1. There are more camels in Australia than koalas. The koala is considered a symbol of Australia, but there are about ten times more one-humped camels (dromedaries) in the country. Animals were brought to the continent in the 19th century to transport goods through the desert Central Australia. Pack "ships of the desert" from time to time fought off caravans, ran wild and, in the absence of natural enemies, successfully multiplied. Now they, like rabbits, are considered a terrible scourge, as they drain drinking springs and destroy rare desert oases. According to forecasts by local ecologists, the number of wild dromedaries in Australia will double in the next decade, and the local government is forced to take not quite humane measures to reduce their number.

The same, however, as "pokey"

2. Australians love gambling. Every year, Australians lose about $1,300 per person in slot machines, which, you see, is a lot. Slot machines - “pokeys”, as the locals call them - have long turned into a national entertainment and a national disaster: there are about a hundred thousand of them in New South Wales alone.

Greek restaurant in Melbourne

3. Australia has its own little Greece. Melbourne is often referred to as "the largest Greek city outside of Greece" - it is home to 47% of the Greek population of Australia. Once there, stop by one of the local restaurants such as Stalaktites, 177-183 Lonsdale St and you will be pleasantly surprised by the quality of the cuisine.

Australian rum

4. The only armed coup in Australian history was over Roma. In the 18th century, colonial Australia established a kind and convenient tradition of paying off laborers with rum: the workers and peasants were happy (which cannot be said about their wives), and the employer, the Corporation of New South Wales, rowed superprofits. In 1808, Governor William Bligh decided to fight drunkenness and the growing influence of local landowners by taking and establishing Prohibition. Such a rash decision led to an armed rebellion, which went down in history as the Rum Riot - the governor was arrested and forced by the British authorities to recall him.

Australian beetroot burger

5. In Australia they serve beetroot burgers. Unusual in Australia are burgers with goat cheese or chorizo ​​sausages, and ordinary - with pieces of canned beets. Burgers are served there with pineapple, and egg, and cheese, and onions, but it is beets that make their taste so “Australian”.

Did you know that there are about 300,000 wild camels in Australia? There are so many camels here that Australia exports them to the Middle East! The first 10,000 camels were brought to the Australian continent in the 19th century - they were used to transport goods.

In 1922, the number of domestic camels reached 22,000. The development of railways and roads completely ousted the "ships of the desert" from the transport sector. Many of the animals were left to their own devices. They moved freely, multiplied and as a result firmly settled on the Australian desert lands.

And what is there now?

There are no predators in Australia, so for a hundred years, wild camels have incredibly bred - their number has doubled every year. By 2009, about a million camels lived in Australia. Moreover, wild camel herds can now be found only in Australia - this is not even in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. In 2002, Australia began exporting camel meat, which is popular with Arabs, to the United Arab Emirates. Australian racing camels are valued in Arab countries.

Camels cause significant harm to the nature of Australia - in some areas they destroy up to 80% of all vegetation. In order for the local ecosystem to begin to disappear, it is enough for only a few camels to live on 1 square kilometer of the territory! And when a drought sets in in Australia, wild camels destroy fences in search of water, break unattended pumps, taps and even toilets.

It doesn't take long for a herd of camels to drink all the water from an artesian spring, even if there is water left behind, it will quickly go rotten. Of course, these animals consume a lot of water, and the rest becomes rotten, and fish cannot survive in it, ”said Ian Ferguson, head of the department of the Australian non-profit Ninti One, whose words are quoted in the message. “The easiest, fastest and cheapest way is to shoot these animals from the air,” Turner said. As ABC explained, snipers will be sent to rural areas by helicopters. How many animals are supposed to be slaughtered is not reported. In many places, there are simply too many camels. In an interview with the Australian broadcaster ABC, Turner said that in some places, farmers report 200 animals congregating at one well. In agricultural areas, the number of camels has reached 60,000, and they often drink water intended for sheep and cows.

In addition, Ferguson pointed out that camels disable windmills and roam the roads, creating a safety problem for motorists.

The Australian government is currently implementing a program to reduce the number of wild camels in the country. So, since 2008, the authorities have shot 135,000 of these animals from helicopters, and another 25,000 have been used for commercial purposes, for example, they were slaughtered for meat. According to experts, the current population of wild camels in Australia is about 140,000 animals.

Back in 2011, the Australian authorities decided to carry out a mass slaughter of camels. The population of these animals is growing too fast and threatens the welfare of small ruminants. Shooting of camels will be carried out from the air.

Camels, apparently, repeated the fate of other animals brought to Australia. In all cases, the problem is the absence of predators that are able to restrain the uncontrolled reproduction of "guests".

First, the Green Continent faced an invasion of rabbits, once brought by an English rich man who wanted to shoot at his leisure. Another sad lesson was taught to Australians by poisonous cane toads introduced to control pests on sugar cane plantations.

Australian Agricultural Land Surveyor Chris Turner estimates that the camel population is increasing by 11% per year. In 2011, about half a million of these artiodactyls walked along the sands of central, northern and western Australia, swaying their humps.

However, environmental movements are concerned about the plans of the authorities. Hugh Wirth, president of the Australian Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said: “You shoot while in motion, the animal is in motion. It is impossible to kill instantly, cleanly, humanely in such conditions.

The Animals of Australia group was even more critical in their comments, with its chief executive Glenys Ugyes calling the planned shooting a "meat grinder". According to her, previous shootings - wild horses and goats showed that this is a very tough occupation in relation to animals. Mortal wounds are inflicted on animals, but they are not quickly killed.

“We have seen the monstrous cruelty inherent in these killings and, acting from the air, it is almost impossible to make sure that every animal is killed,” she said.