FASCINATING FAUNA

A sanctuary for coastal and waterbirds, and for marsupials of all persuasions, Narawntapu is accordingly dubbed the ‘Tasmanian Serengeti’.

OYSTERCATCHER

Narawntapu National Park is a paradise for birds – from the water birds that flourish on the shores and lagoon at Springlawn to the coastal birds including gulls, terns and oystercatchers; the north-east of the park forms the Rubicon Estuary Important Bird Area, which supports over one per cent of the world’s population of pied oystercatchers: a large black-and-white wader that grows up to half a metre in length and is a common sight on Australian beaches, it is unmistakable with its blood-orange bill and eye rings.

TASMANIAN DEVIL

In 2015 Narawntapu became home to a world-first when 19 immunised Tasmanian devils were released into the park; it was the first time a vaccine against the cancer threatening the species was tested in the wild and marked an important milestone in the endeavour to save the local mascot from extinction. Listen out today for the nocturnal screeches, grunts and growls of this shy marsupial.

OTHER MARSUPIALS

Known on the mainland as the grey kangaroo, the Forester kangaroo is Tasmania’s only kangaroo and packs a fair punch – a male can reach over two metres in height when upright. This local kangaroo is currently found in a restricted number of isolated populations in central and north-eastern Tasmania, especially Mt William National Park, Maria Island National Park and Narawntapu National Park. Here, you are bound to see them resting and grazing on open grassland at Springlawn, pictured above, alongside Bennett’s wallabies, pademelons and quolls. The park’s once-healthy wombat population has declined in the last decade due to mange, although Narawntapu has proven an important site for University of Tasmania researchers working to manage the disease statewide.