1. Kakadu National Park; Local Animals vs. Introduced Species

2. Background of the National Park; Kakadu National Park located in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is around 130 kilometres east of Darwin, and covers 19, 804 square kilometres. The name of the misstatement of Gagadju which is the label of the language the Aboriginals speak in the northern part of Kakadu.

3. The Native Flora; The Native Flora found in the Kakadu National Park, are simply the richest, unique and beautiful. Kakadu is also recognised to be one of the most weed free national parks in the world! With more than 1700 flora documented which is the effect of the parks geological and habitat diversity. Kakadu basically has their own specialised flora, such as resurrection grasses which are able to cope well with extreme heat for a long time.

4. The Native Fauna; Kakadu has a diverse range of astonishing animals, most which have adapted to specific environments. Some of the animals, are rare, vulnerable, endangered, or endemic. There are about 74 mammal species (marsupials and placental mammals), 280 species of birds, 117 species of reptiles, 25 frog species, 53 species of freshwater fish (8 of them are limited) and 10,000 species of insects.

5. How it helps nourish and preserve; Having native flora and fauna, is important, because it helps nourish and preserve the environment in which they live and grow in. Indigenous flora keep the soil from eroding, it also reduces pollution and natural landscaping makes a positive influence to biodiversity and a healthy ecosystem. It creates a healthier and much more sustainable food chain/web, letting the animals breed and not die out so quickly as if a specie was newly introduced.

6. Introduced Species; Introduced fauna (animals once either native to another country which now lives and breeds in another country) has had a major negative impact on the environment. In Kakadu, there are many introduced fauna such as; the water buffalo, cattle, pigs, horses, donkeys, cats, dogs, rats, mice, house geckos, European bees and cane toads. These animals have caused so much damage to the park, since they were first introduced, since some of them carry diseases, pollute the water and dig up the soil, making it weak to weeds.

7. What has been done; When species were first introduced, no one ever thought that it would create something so monstrous to the environment, and the habitat. To stop these animals breeding at an alarming rate, things are done to keep them under control. Such as cats, they are shot by Kakadu park staff each wet season because research from Southern-Australia suggests that cats hunting has had a detrimental effect on the native wildlife. To control pigs, Kakadu park staff do a feral pig control which is done regularly, since most pigs have mimosa infestations.

8. Bibliography; http://www.australia.com/contentimages/4.3.15_Icons_N T_Kakadu.gifhttp://www.australia.com/contentimages/4.3.15_Icons_N T_Kakadu.gif http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flora_of_Kakadu_National_ Parkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flora_of_Kakadu_National_ Park http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakadu_National_Park http://www.environment.gov.au/parks/kakadu/manageme nt/programs/feral-animals.htmlhttp://www.environment.gov.au/parks/kakadu/manageme nt/programs/feral-animals.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Water_Buffalo_at_Fog g_Dam_(1).jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Water_Buffalo_at_Fog g_Dam_(1).jpg http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/how-native- plants-help-environmenthttp://curiosity.discovery.com/question/how-native- plants-help-environment http://www.territoryexpeditions.com.au/Wildlife-to-see- in-Kakadu-National-Parkhttp://www.territoryexpeditions.com.au/Wildlife-to-see- in-Kakadu-National-Park