The idea of wild camels roaming the American landscape seems like a desert mirage, yet these large, humped mammals were intentionally introduced to the Southwest. This historical experiment confirms that camels once walked free on U.S. soil outside of zoos and private collections. However, no established, self-sustaining populations of feral camels exist in the United States today. Their presence was a short-lived historical anomaly, leaving behind a unique chapter in American military history.
The U.S. Army’s Great Camel Experiment
The motivation for importing camels arose in the mid-19th century from a military need for efficient transportation across the nation’s newly acquired arid territories. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis championed the project, arguing that the animals were uniquely suited to the Southwest’s scorching climate and rugged terrain. In 1855, Congress approved $30,000 for the acquisition of these pack animals.
The U.S. Navy vessel, the USS Supply, was dispatched to the Middle East and North Africa, sourcing camels from places like Egypt, Turkey, Algeria, and Tunisia. Two shipments arrived on the Texas coast near Indianola in 1856 and 1857, bringing the total number of imported dromedaries to 75. Camp Verde, Texas, served as their primary station.
Initial trials demonstrated the dromedaries’ superior performance over horses and mules in the harsh environment. In one test, six camels carrying over 3,600 pounds of oats completed a round trip from Camp Verde to San Antonio in two days, a journey that took mule teams nearly five days. The animals were also employed on a 1,200-mile surveying expedition from Fort Defiance, Arizona, to California. They proved their ability to traverse mountains and subsist on sparse desert forage, but the project failed to gain widespread acceptance within the established military culture.
The Fate of the Feral Camels
The onset of the Civil War in 1861 doomed the camel experiment. The Texas herd was seized by Confederate forces, and the Union had no system to utilize the California herd. After the war concluded, the government abandoned the project and sold the remaining animals at public auction. Many were purchased by entrepreneurs for use in mining operations or sold to circuses and zoos.
As private owners struggled to manage the exotic animals, or as their businesses failed, many camels escaped or were simply turned loose into the desert. These released animals formed small feral herds that roamed throughout parts of Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California for decades. They proved capable of surviving, even subsisting on plants like the creosote bush, which is unpalatable to most other livestock.
Sightings of these feral camels continued sporadically throughout the late 19th century and into the early 20th century. Historical accounts detail instances of the animals causing alarm by stampeding horses and mules, which were terrified by the camels’ foreign appearance and smell. However, due to a combination of factors, including hunting, predation, and the eventual death of the original imported animals and their offspring, these small, scattered populations began to dwindle.
Current Status: Are Any Truly Wild Today?
Despite the historical presence and the resilience of the feral herds, there is no evidence of a modern, established, breeding population of wild camels in the United States. The last reliable sightings of what were likely the descendants of the Army’s herd faded completely by the 1940s and 1950s. The last confirmed Army camel, known as “Topsy,” died in the Griffith Park Zoo in Los Angeles in 1934, marking the end of the line for the original imports.
Today, occasional reports of camels in the Southwest persist, but these are generally attributed to misidentification of other large animals or, more frequently, to escaped livestock. Camels are legally owned and kept in the U.S. by private exotic animal collectors, ranches, and small operations that use them for tourism or historical reenactments. Any camel encountered outside of a controlled environment would be an escaped domestic animal rather than a member of a self-sustaining wild population.