Kakadu national park

1. Kakadu national park Hisham Alwarawrah 9GI

2. Welcome Kakadu National Park * Welcome to Kakadu National Park. Kakadu Nation park is Australia’s largest national park. The Aboriginal traditional owners are happy and proud to share this special place with you. Kakadu is located in the Northern Territory. It is estimated to be 19,800 km² kilometres in area. Kakadu was established on the 5th April 1979. The park has been visited by 250,000 people since 2000.

3. Fauna and Flora in Kakadu National Park • The plant and animal life in Kakadu is a great attraction for many visitors and those with a particular interest in nature. Birds arrive in millions and fill up the trees while for many of the 60 different mammal resident in the park, it’s mating season. The waterfalls benefit from the rains and are at their most spectacular at this time.

4. Introduced Species In Kakadu National Park. • Here are some introduced species and when they were introduced. • Feral animals have been introduced by non-aboriginals in early 2001. Some of the feral animals are: Pigs, Horses, Cats, Dogs and Cane toads. • Asian water buffalo were introduced between the 1820’s and the 1840’s.

5. Introduced Species Damaging Kakadu National Park • By the 1960’s buffalo numbers had reached enormous proportions and the damage they were causing was obvious. Buffalos cause damage in a number of ways. Their sheer size, weight and hard hooves compact the soil and inhibit plant growth, causing erosion. They eat large volumes of grasses and other plants, competing directly with native wildlife.

6. Overcome The Problems Of Introduced Species • They started to reduce the buffalo’s numbers. Since the reduction, degraded areas have recovered dramatically. There are fewer buffalo wallows, there is clear water in billabongs now and there is less salt intrusion. Plants such as red water lilies, grasses and sedge plants – valuable food for native animals are reappearing.