BEIJING, Aug. 20 (Xinhuanet) -- A pet male camel given as a gift that may have been looking for a mate killed an Australian woman, police said Sunday.

    The camel, given to the woman on her 60th birthday, was killed Saturday at her family sheep and cattle ranch near Mitchell, about 350 miles west of the Queensland state capital of Brisbane, state police Detective Senior Constable Craig Gregory said.

    The 330-pound, 10-month-old male had knocked the woman (police have not released her name) to the ground then lay on top of her in what police suspect was mating behavior, Gregory said.

    Camel expert Chris Hill agreed with Gregory.

    Hill, who has offered camel rides to tourists for 20 years, said young camels are not aggressive but can be dangerous if treated as pets without discipline.

    The woman was given the hand-reared camel in March as a birthday present from her husband and daughter.

    The fate of the camel is not known.

    An autopsy of the woman will determine the precise cause of death within days.

    (Agencies)