Kakadu National Park Local Animals .VS. Introduced Species

1. Kakadu National ParkLocal Animals .VS. Introduced Species Cassie BurnettTerm 4 2012Geography Assignment

2. Back Ground OfKakadu National Park Kakadu is 130 Kilometres east of Darwin, in the far north of Australia, It Is officially thelargest national park in Australia. Indigenous people of Kakadu, known as Binini/ Mungguy,have lived and cared for this special place for thousands of years. Ancestors of the indigenouspeople believe that ancestral beings such as the rainbow serpent and Namarrgon journeyedacross the landscape creating the landforms, plants, animals and Aboriginal people we see today.Kakadu National Park was inscribed on the World Heritage List in three stages beginning in1981 for its natural and cultural values. It is a wonderful example of how living things and theenvironment are constantly developing, how it contains amazing natural formations and features,and how it contains important habitats where endangered plants & animals live.

3. Native Flora & Fauna Flora:Kakadu has the flora richest in northern Australia and more than 2000 plant species have been recorded. The richness is a result or the park’s geological, landform and habitat diversity. Kakadu is known to be one of the most weed free national parks in the world. Fauna: The diverse environment of Kakadu support an mind blowing range of animals of which are considered rare, endangered or endemic (not found anywhere else in the world.) Kakadu is a home for 68 mammals, more than 120 reptiles, 26 frogs, over 300 tidal & freshwater fish species and over 10,000 species of insects. I provides more than 290 bird species.

4. Introduced Species Introduced species cause immense damage to our soils, native plants and animals, and annual production losses worth millions of dollars. Feral animals such as rabbits, goats, cattle, buffalos, pigs, donkeys, horses and camels degrade natural habitats by intensive or selective grazing.

5. Government Help Local governments have responsibility for nature conservation through land-use planning, development approvals and fire management, roadside vegetation and local bushland. These responsibilities include the control of invasive species.Once a species is listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), its recovery is promoted using recovery plans and threat abatement plans. Recovery plans set out the research and management actions necessary to stop the decline, and support the recovery, of listed threatened species or threatened ecological communities. The aim of a recovery plan is to maximise their long-term survival in the wild.

6. 10 Solutions 1) Separate sections of the park.Meaning; Introducedspecies are then separated.2) Create fundraisers etc. in advance to find the money to repair the damages.3) Transfer some species to a different park or land where they won’t corrupt anything 4) Expand on flora and fauna if possible.5) Fence a secure surrounding for the particular species.

7. COLLAGE