06/10/2025
After our recent trip to Alice Springs and conversations with park rangers, tour guides, and helicopter crews, it’s clear there’s an emerging environmental and migration issue in the Red Centre of Australia.
Having lived and worked in remote communities during the 1990s, I remember kangaroos being everywhere — they were a staple food for local people. Ever eaten roo tail? It’s incredible — like a pork knuckle: sticky, rich, and delicious. Nothing went to waste; from the backstrap to the stomach, every part of the animal was used, often for traditional stews and stock.
But here’s the real concern: during our entire trip, we saw just one kangaroo. In contrast, camels are now at plague proportions, with nearly two million estimated across the Alice Springs region. Their population doubles roughly every seven years, and they’re draining vital waterholes, leaving little for native wildlife. With traditional food sources disappearing, many Indigenous people are being forced off their remote communities and into Alice Springs — a large country town at best — creating social strain as different tribal groups are pushed together in limited space.
Yes, culling is underway, and some camels are being sold back to the Middle East. Francis, head of the ranger crew at the West MacDonnell Ranges, told us contractors are currently shooting around 250 camels per week — yet it’s barely making a dent.
Tour guides are embarrassed. People come from around the world expecting to see kangaroos at Uluru, and instead, they see none.
So what can we do? Kangaroos are an Australian icon and a traditional staple for First Nations communities. They’re part of the country’s identity — the “boxing kangaroo” is what the world associates with Australia.
A practical step might be for meat-eaters to start substituting camel for beef. And importantly, there’s a petition circulating right now to secure continued federal funding for Indigenous Park Ranger Programs — funding that the current centre-right, pro-mining, pro–offshore oil government is threatening to cut.
