KAKADU NATIONAL PARK

Kakadu lies in the far north of Australia...only two seasons really...wet and dry...in fact its wetlands are well known along with the abundance of wildlife especially flying animals...over 280 species and maybe 60 mammals or so.
This National Park is in the Northern Territory of Australia, 171 km south-east of Darwin.
Kakadu National Park is located within the Alligator Rivers which in itself is a misnomer there are no Alligators here only in zoos. It covers an area of 1,980,400 ha extending nearly 200 kilometres from north to south and over 100 kilometres from east to west. It is the size of Israel, about one-third the size of Tasmania, or nearly half the size of Switzerland.
The Ranger Uranium Mine, one of the most productive Uranium mines in the world, is contained within the park.
Myself and a friend have decided to go next year...there are many aboriginal sites there...I have been told that some are taboo to us whites...I'll go along with that...many things to see here


Here is a short video of some of the bird life below


A few images of the park to round off this post







This is an Australian Bustard



A frill Lizard...not toxic but will bite...all Australian lizards are not poisonous at all but some will bite




Beware of these beauties they stalk and will kill the saltwater or estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is the largest of all living reptiles

Some smart animals

Bottlenose dolphins use bits of marine sponge to protect their noses while they probe the seabed. Scientists say the behaviour is evidence that they show signs of culture learned from their forebears, rather than passed down in genes....some research done on these very clever mammals in Australia has proven this...two Dolphins many years ago helped my Granddaughters who were very young at the time...I can assure readers it was not part of the act either (it occurred in a marine park long since removed)





Whale song, which is associated in particular with the humpback, is something of a mystery to scientists. Male humpbacks sing mainly during the mating season, but it is not known whether the song is used to attract females or to ward off other males. The song itself is complex. At any one moment, all the males in a population sing the same song. Over time the song slowly evolves into something new, with all the whales making exactly the same changes to their pattern of singing...other whales such as the sperm and beluga also make songs but none are as complex as that of the humpback....I've seen a few of these huge creatures....I felt so different after seeing them at close quarters...overawed is the word






Leatherneck Turtles are also clever...they have to be to stay alive...scientists tracked a leatherback turtle that swam from Indonesia to Oregon and back to Hawaii in an epic 13,000-mile search for food — research they hope will boost international efforts to save the endangered species....this was in 2008...these turtles can be found from Alaska to New Zealand.
These creatures are so huge in fact their size is awesome

The next animal was really amazing...an octopus it seems this creature can and does use a coconut shell for armour...according to Melbourne scientists...it can scuttle away with one pretty quickly too...this means it has picked up the knack of using tools...this is normally associated with us, vertebrates, monkeys and some birds

The Orang-utan Scientists from Harvard University studied orang-utans in Borneo and found them capable of tasks that chimps could only dream of...such as using leaves to make waterproof hats and roofs. They also gathered evidence that the orange-haired apes have developed a culture in which adults teach the young how to make tools...these men of the jungle are adept at a lot of things