Dromedary – Camelus dromedarius

Australian feral camels are dromedary camels whose ancestors were imported to provide transport through inland Australia, and have since made it their domain. While they do not appear to be as destructive as other introduced herbivores, their increasing numbers may affect native vegetation, and have become minor agricultural pests. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 1386 KB) Summary Camelus dromedarius. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 1386 KB) Summary Camelus dromedarius. ... Binomial name Camelus dromedarius Linnaeus, 1758 Dromedary range The Dromedary Camel (Camelus dromedarius) (often referred to simply as the Dromedary) is a large even-toed ungulate native to northern Africa, Greater Middle East area and western India, also the land of east Africa, Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia. ... For other uses, see Camel (disambiguation). ... In zoology, an herbivore is an animal that is adapted to eat primarily plants (rather than meat). ...

Many different types and breeds of camels were brought into Australia, but most were from India. They included the large, fleece-bearing, two-humped Bactrian camel of China and Mongolia, the elite Bishari riding camels of North Africa and Arabia, the pedigreed Bikaneri war camels of Rajasthan in India, and the powerful, freightcarrying lowland Indian camels, capable of moving huge loads of up to 800 kilograms. A breed is a domesticated subspecies or infrasubspecies of an animal. ... Binomial name Linnaeus, 1758 Bactrian Camel range The Bactrian Camel (Camelus bactrianus) is a large even-toed ungulate native to the steppes of eastern Asia. ... North Africa is the Mediterranean, northernmost region of the African continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa. ... The Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula is a mainly desert peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia and an important part of the greater Middle East. ... , Rājasthān (DevanāgarÄ«: राजस्थान, IPA: )   is the largest state of the Republic of India in terms of area. ...

The feral dromedary camels found in Australia are a meld of these breeds but can be split into two types: a slender riding form and a heavier pack animal. Binomial name Camelus dromedarius Linnaeus, 1758 Dromedary range The Dromedary Camel (Camelus dromedarius) (often referred to simply as the Dromedary) is a large even-toed ungulate native to northern Africa, Greater Middle East area and western India, also the land of east Africa, Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia. ...

Thousands of camels were imported into Australia between 1840 and 1907 to open up the arid areas of central and western Australia. They were used for riding, and as draught and pack animals for exploration and construction of rail and telegraph lines; they were also used to supply goods to remote mines and settlements. 1840 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Year 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

History

The Australian camels, roving in the only feral herds of their kind in the world and reckoned to number between 500,000 and 700,000, are descendants of camels imported into Australia, beginning in the mid-1800s, to help lay the foundations of the nation. Shipments came largely from the Indian subcontinent, but animals were also landed from Muscat, Yemen, Iraq and the Canary Islands. A feral horse (an American mustang) in Wyoming A feral animal or plant is one that has escaped from domestication and returned, partly or wholly, to its wild state. ... Map of South Asia (see note) This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia. ... Classification City Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said Area 3,500 km² [1] Population  - Total (2005)  - Density  - Oman calculated rank 606,024 [2] 184. ... Anthem: Arrorró Capital Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife Official language(s) Spanish Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked 13th  7,447 km²  1. ...

Arriving in a trickle that swelled to a flood by the early 20th century, the camels were often guided and cared for by Muslim cameleers. Handlers came from lands as far away as Egypt, Turkey and Persia, though most - with their camels - hailed from northern India and what today is Pakistan. But the men were all, almost always incorrectly, called Afghans or simply "Ghans." The name stuck to a section of the 2,900-kilometre (1,800-mile) transcontinental Central Australian Railroad linking Port Augusta in the south to Darwin in the north. Camels hauled material and supplies to the men building that line beginning in 1879, and the segment of track from Port Augusta to Alice Springs was called "The Ghan" until it was relaid about a decade ago. There is also a collection of Hadith called Sahih Muslim A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Persian: Mosalman or Mosalmon Urdu: مسلمان, Turkish: Müslüman, Albanian: Mysliman, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of the religion of Islam. ... For other uses of this term see: Persia (disambiguation) The Persian Empire is the name used to refer to a number of historic dynasties that have ruled the country of Persia (Iran). ... A kilometer (Commonwealth spelling: kilometre), symbol: km is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1,000 metres (from the Greek words χίλια (khilia) = thousand and μέτρο (metro) = count/measure). ... A mile is a unit of length, usually used to measure distance, in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, United States customary units and Norwegian/Swedish mil. ... Port Augusta (population 15,250) is a town in South Australia. ... Darwin is the capital city of the Australian Territory of the Northern Territory. ... Alice Springs on a large scale map Alice Springs is a large town in the Northern Territory of Australia located at 23°42′ S 133°52′ E. Its population of 28,178 (2001 Census) makes it the second-largest settlement in the Territory (the only other towns of... Current route map of the Ghan The Ghan, short for The Afghan, is the 48-hour, 2,979-km passenger service on the Adelaide-Alice Springs-Darwin Central Australian Railway in Australia. ...

It could be argued that the town of Alice Springs owes its existence to the hardy camel and the equally hardy cameleers. It was founded in the early 1870s as a repeater station for the Darwin-to-Adelaide Overland Telegraph Line - which was also built by men who depended on dromedaries for supplies and equipment. Plodding camels not only helped establish "The Alice," they brought it civilization -or at least music. The first piano arrived in the 1880s, the story goes, strapped to the back of a camel. Aptly, the city holds a state legislative district, a primary school and a major thoroughfare all named after cameleer Saleh "Charlie" Sadadeen, who came to Alice Springs with his team in 1890. "Children were enthralled with his distinctive, flowing robes and intrigued with the long-stemmed pipe he smoked," reports the Alice Springs Centralian Advocate. // Music is an art form consisting of sound and silence expressed through time. ... A short grand piano, with the top up. ... Primary or elementary education is the first years of formal, structured education that occurs during childhood. ...

Men like Sadadeen came to Australia on two- to three-year contracts but often lived out their lives in the country, writes American geographer Tom McKnight in The Camel in Australia. While a handful became wealthy, deploying "thousands of camels organized into the backbone of corporate business," most toiled from dawn to well past dusk for low pay, and lived near outback towns in little communities distinguished by the "tin minarets of their hastily constructed mosques." Wherever the cameleers settled, writes McKnight, "they would soon construct a place of worship. In every case the mosque was a focal point of community life in Ghan Town." A geographer is a crazy psycho whose area of study is geocrap, the pseudoscientific study of Earths physical environment and human habitat and the study of boring students to death. ... A tourism sign post Yalgoo, Western Australia The Dingo Fence near Coober Pedy Fitzgerald River National Park in Western Australia Outback refers to remote and arid areas of Australia, although the term colloquially can cover any lands outside of the main urban areas. ... General Name, Symbol, Number tin, Sn, 50 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 14, 5, p Appearance silvery lustrous gray Standard atomic weight 118. ... External links Minarets, at the Encylopedia of the Orient Minaret Photo Gallery Categories: Stub | Mosques | Architectural elements ... A mosque is a place of worship for followers of the Islamic faith. ... Taken during a Hindu prayer ceremony on the eve of Diwali. ...

The First Camel

The first suggestion of bringing camels to Australia was in 1837, just 49 years after Europeans arrived on the continent, when the governor of New South Wales received a report recommending the importation of camels from India to Sydney. The Sydney Herald (today's Sydney Morning Herald) took up the call, arguing that camels were "admirably adapted to the climate and soil" of the unexplored country. Though it was not until the 1860s that dromedaries were brought Down Under in any numbers, the first camel - named Harry - arrived in 1840, the sole survivor of a group of four loaded aboard ship at Tenerife in the Canary Islands. And though they would soon prove vital to the country's development, their first representative hardly set a good example. Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1837 - 1901) 1837 (MDCCCXXXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... World map showing Europe Political map Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of Earth; the term continent here referring to a cultural and political distinction, rather than a physiographic one, thus leading to various perspectives about Europes precise borders. ... Animated, colour-coded map showing the various continents. ... For other uses, see Governor (disambiguation). ... Capital Sydney Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Professor Marie Bashir Premier Morris Iemma (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 50  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $305,437 (1st)  - Product per capita  $45,153/person (4th) Population (End of March 2006)  - Population  6,817,100 (1st)  - Density  8. ... The Sydney Opera House on Sydney Harbour Sydney (pronounced ) is the most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 4. ... The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. ... ... The term Down Under is a colloquialism referring to all things Australian, which is known as the land Down Under for its position in the southern hemisphere. ... 1840 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Flag of Tenerife Tenerife in the Canary Islands chain. ...

On a surveying expedition to the Lake Torrens area of South Australia in 1846, Harry bit the tentkeeper, grabbed a goat by the back of the neck and "chewed a hole in a bag of flour, leaving a white trail along the route," according to an account of the journey. But the straw that broke Harry's back came when he bumped his owner, John Horrocks, just as Horrocks was loading his rifle. Horrocks lost two fingers and several teeth in the ensuing blast, and died a month later of gangrene. The camel was executed at his express wish. Lake Torrens National Park in South Australia (Australia), is located 431 km north of Adelaide. ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... John Horrocks monument at Penwortham, South Australia John Ainsworth Horrocks (22 March 1818 - 23 September 1846) was one of the first settlers in the Clare Valley in 1839. ...

In May 1841, between Harry's arrival and his premature departure, two female camels acquired from the Imam of Muscat arrived in Sydney via India - the fourth and fifth dromedaries to reach Australia. (The third and fourth were landed in Hobart, Tasmania, from Tenerife, but there is no record of what happened to them.) A male companion from Muscat had died en route. Seeking buyers, the animals' importer shuttled the camels back and forth between Sydney and Melbourne several times, but, despite the Herald's counsel, no one was interested. Finally, the governor of New South Wales bought the animals, along with a replacement male, and ordered them pastured on the Sydney Domain - government property in the capital. Two were painted nibbling on the lawn there in 1845, and the painting hangs today in Sydney's Mitchell Library. 1841 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Capital Hobart Government Constitutional monarchy Governor William Cox Premier Paul Lennon (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 5  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $16,114 (7th)  - Product per capita  $33,243/person (8th) Population (End of September 2006)  - Population  489,600 (6th)  - Density  7. ... The Sydney Opera House on Sydney Harbour Sydney (pronounced ) is the most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 4. ... Melbourne (pronounced ) is the second most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 3. ... Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales The State Library of New South Wales is a large public library owned by the state of New South Wales. ...

The Camel as a "Workhorse"

In 1860, the camel was first called on to do the work for which it was ideally suited: long-distance exploration in a continent of some 7,000,000 square kilometres (about 2,700,000 million square miles) - roughly the area of the 48 contiguous states of the United States. But here, too, first results were far from promising. A total of 26 camels, several originally imported from Aden in 1859 to perform in a show in Melbourne, were included in the 20-man, 23-horse Burke and Wills Expedition that set off from Melbourne in August in a bid to cross the unmapped continent from south to north. A picked team of four men, six camels and a single horse made the last 1,600-kilometre (1,000-mile) push from a base camp at Cooper's Creek, reaching the north coast in February 1861. But none of those camels - and only one man - made it back. Two of the camels were eaten, two were abandoned and two were destroyed when they became too tired to continue. 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ... Year 1859 (MDCCCLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The route Burke & Wills took north (red) and south (dark blue) Robert OHara Burke William John Wills Artists depiction of Burkes death In 1860-61, Robert OHara Burke and William John Wills were sent on an expedition to cross Australia from south to north. ... Cooper Creek (28°23′ S 137°41′ E) is one of the most famous and yet least visited rivers in Australia. ... 1861 (MDCCCLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link with display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar) // January 1 - Benito Juárez captures Mexico City January 2 - Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia dies and is succeeded by...

Instead, the relief mission that departed from Adelaide under John McKinlay in 1862 first proved the value of camels in rough terrain - for a novel reason. McKinlay never found Burke and Wills but did return with valuable reconnaissance, and he praised his camels for their ability to move over stones and through muddy, flooded country. "The camels acted famously," he wrote, "...from their great height they were as good [in protecting the expeditions stores] as if we had been supplied with boats." Further camel-mounted expeditions helped unlock the secrets of the vast, arid interior of the country, pushing in the 1870s through South and Western Australia and what, in 1909, became the Northern Territory. Indeed, the first Europeans to set eyes on magnificent Uluru, the 350-meter (1,140-foot) sandstone monolith on the central Australian plain, were the members of the camel-borne 1872 Ernest Giles expedition. 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Slogan or Nickname: The Territory, The NT, The Top End Motto(s): none Other Australian states and territories Capital Darwin Government Constitutional monarchy Administrator Ted Egan Chief Minister Clare Martin (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 2  - Senate seats 2 Gross Territorial Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $10,418 (8th)  - Product... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Year 1872 (MDCCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Yours faithfully, Ernest Giles Photo in the frontespiece of his Australia Twice Traversed William Ernest Powell Giles (July 7, 1835–November 20, 1897), best known as Ernest Giles, was an Australian explorer who led three major expeditions in central Australia. ...

Australia's first large-scale camel importer was Scottish-born Sir Thomas Elder, whose interest in dromedaries can probably be traced to his own experience in the Middle East. Nine years after an 1857 camel journey from Cairo to Jerusalem, Elder started a stud farm about 400 kilometres (250 miles) north of Port Augusta with 121 camels shipped in from Karachi. That first shipment, chosen with care to meet a variety of outback needs, included light camels for riding, medium-weight pack animals and heavy Kandahar dromedaries able to carry loads up to 650 kilograms (1,440 pounds). Elder's enterprise wasn't trouble-free, either: His herd was immediately struck by mange and reduced by almost half. But with the animals that remained, supplemented by additional imports, he produced carefully bred beasts that consistently brought higher prices than any others, home-grown or imported. This article is about the country. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Nickname: Egypt: Site of Cairo (top center) Coordinates: , Government  - Governor Dr. Abdul Azim Wazir Area  - City 214 km²  (82. ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... Karachi (Urdu: , Sindhi: ) is the capital of the province of Sindh, and the largest city in Pakistan. ... This article is about the city in Afghanistan. ...

The firm Elder founded continues today. And even though it long ago phased itself out of the camel trade, it has retained an interest in the animals. For example, the company supplied 10 camels for a 3,426-kilometre (2,124-mile), 117-day walk from Darwin to Adelaide by the Northern Territory and South Australia police forces. The expedition's arrival on January 1, 1988 was timed to kick off Australia's bicentennial celebrations. In 1986, Elders also aided a central Australian Aboriginal community trying to sell several thousand camels to the Moroccan government. With Elder leading the way, Australian camel importers began to buy in earnest as the 19th century drew to a close. Between 1894 and 1897 alone, says McKnight, 6,000 camels were shipped from India directly to Western Australia, mainly to serve the booming gold camps. In 1910, there were more than 8,400 camels in the country. Numbers peaked around 1920 with some 20,000 in harness. is the 1st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Australian Aborigines are the indigenous peoples of Australia. ... General Name, Symbol, Number gold, Au, 79 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 6, d Appearance metallic yellow Standard atomic weight 196. ...

The Sydney Herald was vindicated. Camels, able to carry heavy loads over long distances and go for days without a drink, proved better adapted than horses or bullocks to working in a continent half of which is arid or semi-arid, where summertime temperatures often soar beyond 35 degrees Celsius (95 °F). Celsius is, or relates to, the Celsius temperature scale (previously known as the centigrade scale). ...

Camels did a variety of important jobs. They hauled the casings that lined the wells that tapped the underground water that opened wide areas to the livestock industry that is vital to the Australian economy to this day. They carried the fencing - and later the fence riders - that held back rabbits from the newly opened ranges; they lugged supplies to sheep ranches and mines and returned with bales of wool and wagonloads of ore; they dragged scoops to carve out lake basins; they pulled passenger coaches between towns where there was barely a road; and they transported policemen and postmen on their appointed rounds far from cities or towns. Outback journeymen even found that the trails pounded smooth by the padded feet of hundreds of dromedaries made excellent routes for bicycling hundreds of kilometres between jobs. Genera Pentalagus Bunolagus Nesolagus Romerolagus Brachylagus Sylvilagus Oryctolagus Poelagus Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world. ... Species See text. ... View of the Grant-Kohrs Ranch A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. ... Long and short hair wool at the South Central Family Farm Research Center in Boonesville, Arizona Wool is the fiber derived from the fur of animals and people of the Caprinae family, principally sheep, but the hair of certain species of other mammals such as goats and rabbits and oxes... Iron ore (Banded iron formation) Manganese ore Lead ore Gold ore An ore is a volume of rock containing components or minerals in a mode of occurrence which renders it valuable for mining. ...

The early camels weren't dawdlers, either. In a famous race, the mount of a cameleer named 'Abd al-Wadi was beaten by a horse in a 176-kilometre (109-mile) run between Bourke and Wanaaring in New South Wales, completed between sunrise and sunset. But the horse died the next day, while 'Abd al-Wadi proudly rode his camel back to the starting point. Location of Bourke in New South Wales (red) Bourke is a town and Local Government Area in the north of New South Wales, Australia. ...

From Rise to Decline and Rise as a Pest

At their zenith, dromedaries were in use in some three-quarters of the continent. And, in a bit of irony that Sir Thomas Elder might have relished, the Australian Camel Corps even served in Egypt and Palestine in World War I as part of Great Britain's Imperial Camel Corps. The force consisted of three companies of Australian Camel Corps to one British, and a company of Hong Kong artillery. But by the middle of the 1920s the future was looking cloudy for Australian cameleers and camel ranchers - clouded by the choking waves of red dust sent up by automobiles and trucks, the new wave of imports into the outback. From the 1930s on, in all but a few long-distance, off-road cases, the camel was a museum piece. The Holy Land or Palestine Showing not only the Old Kingdoms of Judea and Israel but also the 12 Tribes Distinctly, and Confirming Even the Diversity of the Locations of their Ancient Positions and Doing So as the Holy Scriptures Indicate, a geographic map from the studio of Tobiae Conradi... “The Great War ” redirects here. ...

Camel men watched the value of their stock plummet. Many abandoned their beasts to the wild. But the feral camel thrived in the bush, recent surveys show wide camel ranges extending from the Northern Territory and South Australia in the center of the continent well into Western Australia, with animals also reported in the northeastern state of Queensland. The Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Commission estimated a population up to 700,000 in 2005, expected to double in eight years, jeopardising cattle pastures.[1] Slogan or Nickname: The Territory, The NT, The Top End Motto(s): none Other Australian states and territories Capital Darwin Government Constitutional monarchy Administrator Ted Egan Chief Minister Clare Martin (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 2  - Senate seats 2 Gross Territorial Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $10,418 (8th)  - Product... Capital Adelaide Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Marjorie Jackson-Nelson Premier Mike Rann (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 11  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $59,819 (5th)  - Product per capita  $38,838/person (7th) Population (End of September 2006)  - Population  1,558,200 (5th)  - Density  1. ... Capital Brisbane Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Quentin Bryce Premier Peter Beattie (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 28  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $158,506 (3rd)  - Product per capita  $40,170/person (6th) Population (End of November 2006)  - Population  4,164,590 (3rd)  - Density  2. ...

Australia boasts the largest population of feral camels and the only wild herd of dromedary (one-humped) camels in the world. Live Camels are exported to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Brunei, and Malaysia where disease-free wild camels are prized as a delicacy. Australia's camels are also exported as breeding stock for Arab camel racing stables and for use in tourist venues in places such as the United States.[2] This camel is driven by a child jockey. ...

Effects on the Environment

Their impact on the environment is not as bad as other introduced pests in Australia. They prefer to eat trees and plants that local wildlife dislike; only 2% of their diet is grass; and having soft-padded feet, causing soil erosion is unlikely. It's been suggested that the camel is a replacement for the now-extinct Diprotodon, such as the dingo was to the Thylacine and Tasmanian Devil on Australia. {{Taxobox | color = pink | name = Diprotodons | image = Diprotodon australis skull. ... Binomial name Thylacinus cynocephalus (Harris, 1808) The Thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) is the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times. ... Binomial name Sarcophilus harrisii (Boitard, 1841) The Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), also referred to simply as the devil, is a carnivorous marsupial now found only in the Australian island state of Tasmania. ...

External links

• Camels Down Under
• Australian Government Department of the Environment and Heritage
• Camels Australia Export Camel Industry Association website.