Camels common in the Great Sandy Desert

Camels and more camels

I have just come back from a trip into the Great Sandy Desert and was surprised to see so many signs of camels. Once you pass the Telfer Mine turnoff there are lots of fresh camel droppings sprinkled across the road.

This fragile dune country is part of the Rudall River National Park. One of the largest national parks in Western Australia and probably the least visited. There is very little water and road travel is difficult as fuel is not readily available. This region is renowned for its diverse wild life, including many reptiles, frogs and small mammals that are found nowhere else.

The Rudall River is a chain of waterholes that feed into Lake Dora, a vast salt lake that has been known to fill up in the last 13 years but only when a cyclone dumps a huge volume of water over the catchment.

On my return I was heartened to hear that the Martu people of Kunawarritji are developing an industry of catching the camels and transporting them to the Middle East.

A recent aerial survey study has determined that there are approximately 21,000 camels in the Rudall River National Park, These camels are in large herds of between 50 and 100 camels concentrated around the few water holes.
You can read the whole report here: http://www.blogger.com/www.dec.wa.gov.au/component/option,com_docman/gid,2136/task,doc_download/%20--