Hi, my name is Bali. I am a 12-year-old bullock camel. I have only one hump, so I am a Dromedary camel. If I had two humps I would be a Bactrian camel (our Asian cousins). I have a woolly coat in the winter, which I shed in the summer.

 My ancestors came to Australia in the early 1800’s from Arabia and Pakistan to help the explorers discover the inland of Australia. In the early days we carried most of the goods needed to settle this country on our back. My big brothers are very strong and can carry up to 1 tonne of weight.

There are over 150,000 of my relatives (wild camels) living in Australia mainly in the deserts of Queensland, NSW, South Australia and the Northern Territory. We are relatively disease free and are the only wild camels left in the world.

I came out of the wilds of King’s Canyon in the Northern Territory in 1990 and have been living with a few friends at Silverton near Broken Hill NSW ever since. I have travelled all over Australia running in races but all I only do rides and safaris now.

My large eyes have three eyelids with long eyelashes, two of which act like windscreen wipers to keep the sand and dust out of my eyes and the large bone over my eyes act as sunshades. Hairs protect my small ears, which have excellent hearing.

I have a very good sense of smell and can close my nostrils to keep the sand and dust out. The split in my upper lip traps the moisture I breathe out and lets it run back into my mouth so I can conserve moisture. I can also alter my body temperature from 34dC to 41dC so that I do not sweat and can save more moisture.

My feet have two toes that are joined like webbed feet. They spread out wide to make a soft cushion like leathery pad, which enables me to walk easily across sand.

I am a 3-stomach ruminant and eat a lot of different types of plants but only a few leaves off each bush, I eat parts of the foliage that other species do not, such as the thorns of the acacia tree. Foraging herds of camels spread out over a large area when grazing so that they do not damage or eat all of the vegetation. I eat weeds grass and hay; I also like fruit, vegies and lollies. I do not compete with native animals or other domestic species of for food.

 If I have to, I can go without a drink for 40 days sometimes even longer although I prefer to have a small drink every day. Because I need a lot of salt I can even drink seawater.

 My hump is made of fat (NOT Water), that is where I store my body reserves for when times get tough and there isn’t much food around. Baby camels are born without a hump.

 The pad on my chest is called a pedestal; I sit on this and the thick leathery pads on my knees to protect me from the hot desert sands.

 We do not spit but when we get really upset we may bring up our cud.