h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'll have to keep this guide handy, Lady Pennywhistle. There are supposedly wild camels in the desert areas of Southwest Texas. They were brought in during the Mexican-American war and have gone feral. Of course I live on the luscious Gulf Coast, but hey, one might go exploring and end up on my doorstep, drooling, just looking for a fight, ya know.

Anyways, congrats on makeing the front page twice while you're away at camp.

Thinking about it - It is probably more likely to get attacked by a feral camel in Oz. Don't they have to chase them with helicopters there to control them? They are more likely to be really mad and in attack mode.

Watermusic

Also, there are local camel herders in the Coachella Valley of southern California, the camels brought out for the annual camel and ostrich races at the Riverside County Fair.

(At least one of the camels is combat trained, to disarm crazed gunmen and sit on them. I've seen that one in action in a demonstration. No photos available, though.)

http://www.google.com.au/imgres?q=Coachella+Valley,+state+fair,+camel+races,+images&hl=en&lr=&biw=1277&bih=624&tbm=isch&tbnid=JacNjvv_syVh8M:&imgrefurl=http://www.examiner.com/rving-in-national/indio-the-coachella-valley-offers-a-perfect-desert-retreat&docid=fn0JXGHcx6rQVM&imgurl=http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID12879/images/4.jpg&w=580&h=387&ei=wkv6TsGhDoGXiQLguYSwDg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=171&vpy=153&dur=2236&hovh=183&hovw=275&tx=143&ty=103&sig=115201275743163147794&page=1&tbnh=130&tbnw=177&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0

http://www.google.com.au/imgres?q=Coachella+Valley,+state+fair,+ostrich+races,+images&start=136&num=10&hl=en&lr=&biw=1277&bih=624&tbm=isch&tbnid=Dnu7W8ga51qbYM:&imgrefurl=http://www.feedage.com/feeds/19871978/celebritys-on-news&docid=WR1R7vi5ESrgYM&imgurl=http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZfgXiCZXoJ8/Ta10jI1m8II/AAAAAAAAgnU/bYV7luuMbm4/s1600/article-0-0BA907A200000578-705_634x659.jpg&w=634&h=659&ei=Okz6TtrMJ4ahiAKp8ImcDQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1016&vpy=297&dur=4845&hovh=229&hovw=220&tx=131&ty=152&sig=115201275743163147794&sqi=2&page=8&tbnh=125&tbnw=121&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:20,s:136

Ahh! here it is!

http://www.google.com.au/imgres?q=Coachella+Valley,+state+fair,+ostrich+races,+images&num=10&hl=en&lr=&biw=1277&bih=624&tbm=isch&tbnid=dNE2VyZjZAMB5M:&imgrefurl=http://www.deependdining.com/2011/02/speed-dating-date-fest-riverside-county.html&docid=LwBHznLkucyi5M&imgurl=http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5291/5475424698_3b8f974e7b.jpg&w=500&h=340&ei=MUz6TqDSAoKPigKgh7GpDg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=171&vpy=152&dur=1764&hovh=185&hovw=272&tx=134&ty=90&sig=115201275743163147794&sqi=2&page=1&tbnh=130&tbnw=173&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0




The Coachella Valley isn't Texas, but it is part of the same eco-system, the American south-western chapparal which is continuous from California to west Texas.

http://www.google.com.au/imgres?q=chaparral,+images&hl=en&lr=&sa=X&biw=1277&bih=624&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=fD08li4CtJ7bNM:&imgrefurl=http://interwork.sdsu.edu/fire/resources/Chaparral.htm&docid=nFBlA7fo766gFM&imgurl=http://interwork.sdsu.edu/fire/resources/images/259_Red_Shanks_Chaparral.jpg&w=259&h=391&ei=eEr6TtvDJ4mWiALgiKGUDQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=169&vpy=235&dur=2013&hovh=276&hovw=183&tx=110&ty=217&sig=115201275743163147794&page=2&tbnh=123&tbnw=81&start=18&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:18

Chapparal, larissima divaricata, the signature plant that gives the ecological range its name.

The oldest plant in the united states is though to be a chapparal located on Fort Irwin.

http://www.google.com.au/imgres?q=Fort+Irwin,+CA+oldest+living+creosote+bush,+images&hl=en&lr=&biw=1277&bih=624&tbm=isch&tbnid=hIripujEyQ5G5M:&imgrefurl=http://wn.com/Oldest_Animal_Fossils&docid=XwW5cMni2qn0PM&itg=1&imgurl=http://my.wn.com/media/wiki/k/i/King_Clone.jpg&w=120&h=90&ei=oFH6TuuyJIKziQKAloHEDg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=867&vpy=366&dur=2828&hovh=72&hovw=96&tx=71&ty=41&sig=115201275743163147794&page=1&tbnh=72&tbnw=96&start=0&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:11,s:0

(Also, the plant is great in spaghetti sauce, a seasoning in the same culinary family as things like bay leaves and rosemary.)




Other California camel trivia:

The US Army experimented with camels as beasts of burden for the American southwest during the closing years of the 19th century. The US Armies' combat Camel Corps was retired at Fort Tejon, nowadays off the 5 fwy in the grapevine (the Tejon pass), superseded by the automotive revolution.

http://www.google.com.au/search?q=chaparral,+images&hl=en&lr=&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=bUr6TvvHGKX9iQKW9dXLDg&ved=0CCcQsAQ&biw=1277&bih=624#q=Fort+Tejon,+combat+camel+corps,+images&num=10&hl=en&lr=&tbm=isch&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=d30bd526aebb35e0&biw=614&bih=174