National Geographic reports a new study that says feral horses or camels may not “belong” where we put them, but they’re keeping the species wild and helping the ecosystem. Some say that wild horses grazing on the Western range or camels in Australia are on the “wrong” continent. This study argues that these animals should be welcomed in their new range because they are replacing extinct animals and preserving their own.
Daniel Simberloff, Gore Hunger Professor of Environmental Science in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, studies the impact of non-native species on ecosystems. “There is an entire book and many papers about the many inimical impacts – ecological as well as economic and social, of feral camels,” Simberloff said. Read the full story online.