A randy camel has killed its woman owner after apparently trying to mate with her.

The ten-month-old animal, weighing 150kg (23st 8lb), knocked exotic pet lover Pam Weaver to the ground before trying to straddle her.

Husband Noel, who gave her the camel as a 60th birthday present in March, returned home to discover his wife’s body on Saturday.

Mrs Weaver, who has a daughter, was in the middle of cooking dinner and there was a cup of tea on the table.

The camel was wandering loose in the back yard.

The animal had a history of erratic behaviour, often trying to straddle other species including the family’s pet goat.

Det Craig Gregory said: ‘I would say it had probably been playing or it may even be a sexual sort of thing.

Mrs Weaver had a love of exotic pets.

‘The family had considered buying her a llama or alpaca but found they were too expensive.’

But camel expert Chris Hill said he had no doubt its behaviour was sexual.

Mr Hill, who has been offering camel rides to tourists for 20 years, said young camels were not aggressive but could be dangerous if treated as pets.

The bizarre tragedy happened at the Weaver family’s sheep and cattle ranch near Mitchell, 600km (350 miles) west of Brisbane.

Australia has a huge wild camel population which has grown since their introduction as pack animals in the 1800s.