Camels Gone Vanish: A Camel‑Storm Over the APY Lands
In a nothing‑like‑happening, helicopter‑mounted sharpshooters wiped out over 5,000 feral camels in a five‑day sweep across South Australia’s driest corners.
Why the Camel Calamity Became a Real Problem
- Water‑hole troublemakers – Camels often got stuck in the very water holes locals rely on, leaving the water contaminated.
- Infrastructure nightmares – Their massive hooves chewed up roads, bridges and fences.
- Driver danger – With the herd stampeding through rural roads, the risk to motorists shot up.
- Food supply squeeze – Camels trample native plants, leaving less for other wildlife.
The APY Lands: Where the Fight Took Place
The Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) region hosts around 2,300 Aboriginal families in a far‑off stretch of arid land. The community’s chief, Richard King, said the cull helped safeguard their water and safety.
“We get the animal‑rights buzz, but there’s a whole other side to life for a bunch of non‑native camels in the most barren parts of the planet,” King explained. “We’ve got to manage this pest – staying cool, keeping our water safe, and protecting the kids, elders, and the local plant and animal life.”
What Those Culling Heroes Have Gone Through
With the drought biting hard, those camels got stuck for lack of water, dying in a pit of embarrassment – or more accurately, a ditch. The reports say the operation took down a total of more than 5,000 camels.
Why the Strip‑Down of Camels Was Needed
- Drought‑induced crisis – Australia’s 2019 most extreme dry year left some towns without water.
- Fire risk – The poor conditions sparked massive bushfires in the country’s southeastern states.
- Camels’ size matters – Once the camels pushed past 20,000 in the 1840s and came up to a million today, their impact grew hopelessly.
- Hard, relentless roaming – The animals spread out over huge distances, ruining native vegetation in the process.
The Historical Camel Story
Those desert wanderers were first brought to Aussie lands in the 1840s to explore the interior, with simply 20,000 shipped from India over the next 60 years. Today, their “wild” population is the biggest anywhere in the world, topping 1 million animals in the inland deserts.
What Indigenous Keepers Have Done So Far
For years, the traditional owners in the APY Lands have hand‑picked and sold off those feral camels. But the sheer size of their numbers, especially in dry spots, forced them to pull the trigger.
The environment office warns that the camels’ “inability to manage the scale and number of camels that congregate in dry conditions” just means it’s time to intiate large‑scale removal.
In the end, the helicopter‑marksmanship operation seems to have been a crucial move to protect the community’s water, roads, and heartbeats. The APY lands may now feed safer, with fewer camel‑curses haunting the future.
