Welcome To The Camel Graveyard - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

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In May 2007 an ultralight aircraft found every waterhole in a 30 kilometre radius of Docker River was dried out and filled with thousands of camels that had died of thirst. He says without rain, tens of thousands of camels across the landscape will soon be in the same situation, causing grief for those who inhabit the areas. "They're basically stripping the waterholes of all their features and creating significant erosion around watercourses," he said.

"It has the capacity to change the flow of water, it changes the character of these places and some of the specific features around them have their own cultural significance, they have stories associated with them, ceremonial songs. For example, a ghost gum in the vicinity of a sacred waterhole may also have significance, so there might be multiple features around one waterhole which are all part of a story of cultural significance which need to be protected."

Mr Alexander says carcasses have a great impact on biodiversity. "These waterholes, rockholes and watercourses are also for the wonderful native fauna, but the landscape is under so much pressure that we're losing those native species at a rapid rate," he said. "As charming and charismatic as camels might appear, they're having a massive impact across the landscape."

It is estimated more than one million camels are currently roaming the Australian outback. Mr Alexander says unless there is a significant reduction in that number, the figure will only increase. "I've had experts say that environmentally there's nothing stopping camels getting to Cooktown , and there'd surely be a bigger interest shown in them if they got anywhere near the east coast," he said.

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http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/12/03/2760546.htm