AFCMP News - September 2011

The on-ground monitoring of feral camel impacts on flora and fauna is gathering pace across sites in NT, WA, SA and Qld. Due to the remote locations of the monitoring sites, motion-activated cameras are being used to photograph and video birds and animals as they come in to watering points. This will give us presence/absence information on different species and how this changes over time as camel densities are reduced. Feral camels can consume large volumes of limited desert water sources and reduce water quality as a result of their dung and carcasses. They also trample vegetation around wetlands, which reduces the quality of biodiversity refuge habitat.

This recent photo was collected from Anna’s Reservoir in the Northern Territory, which emphasises the importance of managing feral camels.