when deer were reintroduced to piedmont NC it was to provide hunters with sport and food. now we have too many of them, and cars hit them and gardening has become a challenge.
but the people of Australia have real problems, camels.
"The animals have caused chaos in the Northern Territory town of Docker River, smashing water tanks, destroying fences and approaching houses. State officials have described the siege as a "critical situation" and warned that the town did not "have the luxury of time", after the camels blocked the town's airstrip - preventing medical evacuations - and began to contaminate the water supply...
"As well as wreaking havoc in Docker River, camels have been blamed for defoliating shrubs and grazing on food sources traditionally used by Aboriginal Australians. They create a hazard for motorists traveling in the outback.
Macdonnell Shire council, which oversees Docker River, said many residents were unable to leave their homes. "The social and psychological impacts on some people about being contained in homes and not being able to step out ... there will be some cost factors for the community there," the chief executive, Graham Taylor, told the Sydney Morning Herald.
The camels have butted water tanks, approached houses and knocked down fencing at the local runway. Knight said the carcasses of camels killed in stampedes at water holes were contaminating the town's water supply. "This is a very critical situation out there, it's very unusual and it needs urgent action," he said..."
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/11/27-3from wiki:
It has been suggested[who?] that the camel is an ecological replacement for the now-extinct Diprotodon, as the dingo was to the Thylacine (commonly known as the Tasmanian Tiger), in Australia.[citation needed]
Although their impact on the environment is not as severe as some other pests introduced in Australia, camels feed on more than 80% of the available plant species. Degradation of the environment occurs when densities exceed two animals per km2, which is presently the case throughout much of their range in the Northern Territory where they are confined to two main regions: the Simpson Desert and fringing pastoral properties, and the western desert area comprised of the Central Ranges, Great Sandy Desert and Tanami Desert. Some traditional food plants harvested by Aboriginal people in these areas are seriously affected by camel browsing. While having soft-padded feet makes soil erosion less likely, feral camels do have a noticeable impact on salt lake ecosystems, foul waterholes and destabilise dune crests which contributes to erosion.[1]
The current estimated population of about one million feral camels is doubling approximately every nine years and there is evidence that impacts will increase along with the population. The significant damage that camels have done, and are currently doing, to the fragile ecosystems, cultural sites, isolated communities, and pastoral enterprises of desert Australia has gone largely unnoticed by the bulk of Australia’s population.[7]
[edit]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_feral_camelit seems they destroy toilets in houses, and water troughs for horses and cattle, they don't just drink, they destroy. especially in a drought, which Australia is having now, big time.
