Kakadu National Park

1. Kakadu National Park By: Kapil 9GI

2. Brief background of the Kakadu national Park • Renowned for its extraordinary wetlands and rich cultural traditions, Kakadu National Park has received two World Heritage listings. Kakadu National Park covers an area of approximately 20000 square kilometres, and is the second largest national park in the world. The major landforms and habitats in Kakadu National Park include an entire tropical river and its catchment, a sandstone plateau and escarpment, savannah woodlands, open forests, rivers, floodplains, mangroves and mudflats. The wildlife in Kakadu National Park includes over 280 species of birds, 60 kinds of native mammals, 55 kinds of freshwater fish, thousands of species of insects, and many species of reptiles, the most famous of which is the salt-water crocodile. Kakadu National Park's impressive sandstone escarpment features some of the finest and most accessible rock art in the world, dating back thousands of years. The Park was declared in three stages, from 1979 to 1991 and is jointly managed by Parks Australia and the traditional owners of the land. Over 230 000 (2000) tourists visit Kakadu National Park every year. Some areas of Kakadu have restricted visiting times, and others are not open to the general public or are only accessible with a permit. Most waterfalls may not run all year round due to seasonal conditions. As you enter Kakadu National Park, you will be required to buy a permit. Part of this money is paid to the Traditional Owners of the land as rent and the remainder contributes to the upkeep of the park.

3. Explanation of Native flora and fauna and how it helps nourish and preserve the national park • The plant and animal life in Kakadu is its greatest appeal for many visitors, and those with a particular interest in nature tend to schedule their holidays for the rainy season when the wildlife is at its liveliest. Birds arrive in their millions and fill the trees while for many of the 60 different species of mammal resident in the park, it's mating season. Visitors can expect a cacophony of sounds. The waterfalls benefit from the rains and are at their most spectacular at this time. Be sure to bring a good set of binoculars for bird and animal watching.

4. A detailed analysis of Introduced species • Buffalo in Kakadu: Asian water buffalo were introduced into northern Australian settlements between the 1820s and the 1840s, as work animals and for meat and hides. As these settlements were abandoned, the buffalo were released and quickly spread across the lowlands of the Alligator Rivers region. • Pigs : Pigs cause damage to a broad range of Kakadu's habitats. They degrade the environment around springs and small rainforest patches, especially in the wet season. They also dig up areas in their search for food and compete directly with magpie geese and Aboriginal people for bulbs that grow along the wetland shores. • Horses: Horses are particularly common in the southern woodlands of the park. They spread weeds and damage waterholes by eroding soil and fouling the water. Recent control measures have reduced the number of horses along the Kakadu Highway.

5. Continuing… • Cats: Cats are present in low numbers throughout the park. Casual observations and research from southern Australia suggest that cats' hunting activity is having a detrimental effect on native wildlife. Cats are not allowed to be kept as pets in the township of Jabiru. They are shot by park staff each wet season along floodplain and creek margins. Again, this is done on an opportunistic basis. • Dogs: Dogs that have become feral have some impact in that they interbreed with the dingo population in the park, changing the dingo gene pool. Jabiru residents are allowed to keep up to two dogs within the confines of the township and park residents can keep dogs at the discretion of the Director of National Parks. • Cane toads : Cane toads were found in Kakadu National Park on 12 March 2001. Cane toads are poisonous throughout most of their life cycle and current information suggests that they will have an initial impact on animals such as snakes, goannas and quolls, who will try to eat them. Evidence from other areas effected by Cane toads suggest numbers will stabilise after an initial period. No effective control measures are available. Cane toads in the park are likely to be one of the most pressing management problems facing Kakadu in the coming decade.

6. How introduced species have damaged the national park with specific reference to local flora and fauna • Flora: Kakadu has more than 2000 plant species, because of the different geological areas, landforms and habitats. Kakadu is also said to be one of the most weed free national parks in the world. The different geographical areas of Kakadu have their own specialised plants. The area called ‘the Stone Country’ has ‘resurrection grasses’ that are able to survive extreme heat, and dry conditions followed by periods of heavy rain. Monsoon forests often develop in the cool moist gorges found in the stone country. The southern hills and basins support several endemic plants that are only found in Kakadu such as Eucalyptus koolpinensis near Jarrangbarnmi (Koolpin Gorge). Lowland areas form a large proportion of Kakadu National Park and are mainly covered in eucalypt-dominated open woodland with the ground layer consisting of a large range of grasses including spear grass, sedges and wildflowers

7. Continuing… • Fauna: The different areas of Kakadu National Park support a huge number of animals, a number of which have adapted to particular habitats. Some animals in the Park are rare, endangered, vulnerable or endemic. Because of the extreme weather conditions experienced in the Park, many animals are active only at particular times of the day or night or at particular times of the year.

8. What have been some government initiatives to help overcome the problems of introduced species • Kill out animals

9. List possible solutions to assist the Kakadu national park overcome this problem • Kill out introduced species • High security • poison