The vertebrate fauna of Kanangra-Boyd National Park
Overview
Kanangra-Boyd National Park is a large reserve near Oberon. The park's elevation ranges from just over 150 metres above sea level in the Coxs River Valley to 1334 metres at Mount Emperor. It protects a diverse range of habitats, including rainforests, Snow Gum woodlands and upland swamps. The park supports a wide variety of vertebrate animals.
This report describes the terrestrial vertebrate fauna of Kanangra-Boyd National Park, derived from fauna surveys undertaken by the Department of Environment and Conservation (formerly the NPWS). It documents for the first time the species and habitats present in the reserve, and combines the results of systematic surveys undertaken between 1997 and 2004. It concludes that:
- There are 235 native vertebrate fauna species known to occur within the reserve. This includes 124 diurnal birds, eight nocturnal birds, 16 bats, eight arboreal mammals, 15 ground mammals, 34 reptiles, 18 frogs and 12 introduced species.
- Kanangra-Boyd National Park supports habitat for at least 18 fauna species that are listed as threatened on the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act (1995). Seven of these species have been recorded in high numbers, indicating that healthy populations are present within the park. This includes:
- glossy black-cockatoo
- powerful owl
- yellow-bellied glider
- large-eared pied bat
- greater broad-nosed bat
- eastern false pipistrelle
- eastern bent-wing bat.
- Additional threatened fauna species include:
- barking owl
- sooty owl
- spotted-tailed quoll
- squirrel glider.
- Four threatened species have been recently observed within 2 km of the park, and given the presence of suitable habitat, they are considered highly likely to occur within its boundaries. These are the koala, masked owl, eastern freetail-bat and Rosenberg's goanna.
- Habitats for the threatened booroolong frog and Littlejohn's tree frog are protected within the park, although neither species has been recorded in recent times.
- It is considered likely that brush-tailed rock-wallabies persist within the park, though recent surveys have failed to conclusively confirm their presence.
- The limestone caves at Colong were found to contain significant roosting populations of the eastern bent-wing bat (more than 1000 individuals estimated) and the eastern horseshoe-bat. No evidence was found to suggest that this cave system is being used as a maternity site.
- Feral animals including rabbits, foxes and pigs are present in the reserve. Pigs and evidence of their activity are particularly dense on the Boyd Plateau and the Jenolan and Kowmung River valleys.
- The composition and distribution of fauna species within the park strongly reflects landscape patterns in elevation, geology and topography, and the location of the park at the junction of the Sydney Basin and South Eastern Highlands Bioregions. There are clearly distinctive assemblages of fauna that correspond to the montane and sub-alpine environments, and to the lower altitude valley systems.
The recent fauna surveys in Kanangra-Boyd National Park have contributed important information to our understanding of the distribution, range, habitat preference and conservation status of many animals, including threatened and newly described species. Such information will improve our understanding of species conservation status across the region and assist in the updating of effective management strategies.
All of the records collected during the survey have been entered into the Atlas of NSW Wildlife, which can be accessed by park management staff and members of the public.
Documents to download
This report is available in two versions.
If you have a broadband internet connection, you may wish to download the complete 5.8MB file:
If you have a dial-up internet connection, you can download sections of the plan below.
Page last updated: 16 March 2012
