Crossword Genius

Pack animal appeared stern to girl (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

camel

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'pack animal' is the definition.
'camel' can be an answer for 'animal' (I've seen this before). I am not sure about the 'pack' bit.

'appeared stern to girl' is the wordplay.
'appeared stern' becomes 'ca' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'to girl' becomes 'Mel' (short for Melanie).
'ca'+'mel'='CAMEL'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for camel that I've seen before include "Pale brown - animal" , "fawn" , "Humped beast" , "Beastly type" , "Ungulate mammal" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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