Back in August last year, the NSW government announced that it had acquired a 37,422-hectare plot of land in the NSW outback – and that instead of using the land for development, they’d be protecting the area as the state’s newest national park. Now, they’ve announced that the new national park (known as Comeroo Station or just Comeroo) will provide a safe home for 12 threatened species: including honeyeaters, pink cockatoos and the ridiculously adorable stripe-faced dunnarts.
According to the recent (and first-ever) fauna survey of the 37,422-hectare stretch of protected wilderness, the park is currently home to 158 native species, 12 of which are recognised as threatened species. The ten-day survey was carried out by a team of expert ecologists, who spent time day and night taking stock of the plants and creatures who call Comeroo home in order to strategise how to best preserve the property and its residents.
Along with confirmed sightings of more than 100 native species on the site, the survey found a huge range of native flora on the property, confirming its importance as a protected space. With a diverse range of habitats including woodlands, shrublands, ephemeral wetlands and alluvial floodplains connected to an extensive section of Cuttaburra Creek, Comeroo can provide a safe haven for some of the state’s most vulnerable species.
"Finding 12 threatened species within Comeroo Station is incredibly exciting and these surveys mark the crucial first step in the journey of transforming this extraordinary property into a national park, ensuring its protection for generations to come,” explains Minister for Climate Change and the Environment Penny Sharpe.
The surveys found a total of 158 species within the park: 14 mammal species, 109 different species of birds, 22 reptile species and 13 different species of frog. Many of the birds found living on the property have found their home on the 10,000-hectare stretch of swampland within the park. Yantabulla Swamp is an internationally recognised Important Bird Area, providing an essential habitat for waterbirds (reportedly housing up to 50,000 waterbirds at any one time).
Of the species recorded, three are categorised as endangered, and a further nine are listed as threatened species by NSW and/or Federal legislation. The endangered species residing in the park are the eastern fat-tailed gecko, the pink cockatoo and the south-eastern hooded robin. The other vulnerable species who call Comeroo home are the brolga, hall’s babbler, grey-crowned babbler, southern whiteface, black-breasted buzzard, pied honeyeater, stripe-faced dunnart and two species of bat (the little pied bat and the yellow-bellied sheath-tailed bat).
These findings will be crucial in helping to map out a conservation strategy for the species residing in and around Comeroo before the park opens to the public. Comeroo is set to open later this year – you can learn more over here.