Australia has the world’s largest herd of wild camels. the population is estimated to be about 3 million, spread across 37% of the Australian mainland.

Astonishing story of Australian camels. Why thousands of them are shot dead routinely

The year was 1606. Europe by now had established itself as the leader in the ‘age of discovery’. Undertaking long overseas expeditions to ‘discover’ unvisited distant lands had gained currency by then. India was already ‘discovered’ via sea route, so were Africa, North and South Americas. It was in this backdrop that Dutch explorer Willem Janszoon made landfall in Australia on February 26, 1606 and became the first European to reach the continent.

In his first visit, Janszoon barely stayed in Australia, which back then was sparsely inhabited by the Aboriginals. Had he stayed put and ventured into the vast arid outback Australia, his experience of seeing the terrain may not have been very different from a similar venture today, albeit a … Continue Reading (9 minute read)