Australia may now have the largest wild population of Arabian camels in the world (something between 150.000 and 200.000). They live in most of Australia’s desert as well as much of the semi-desert lands. Camels were first introduced into Australia in the 1840’s to assist in the exploration of inland Australia. Between 1840 and 1907, about 15,000 camels were imported and used as draft and riding animals by people pioneering the dry interior.