Buckaringa Sanctuary

Buckaringa Sanctuary is a 20 km² nature reserve in the southern Flinders Ranges of South Australia. It is 30 km north of the town of Quorn. It is owned and managed by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC).

History

Buckaringa was a pastoral lease which was taken up in the 1880s, and used for sheep grazing and cereal cropping until 1990. It was acquired by Earth Sanctuaries as a wildlife reserve in the early 1990s, before being purchased by AWC in 2002. [http://www.australianwildlife.org/buckaringa.asp?Type=History Buckaringa: History] ]

Landscape and climate

Most of Buckaringa consists of rocky ridges, plains with shallow soils and rock debris, and steep-sided gorges with caves, crevices and piles of boulders. [http://www.australianwildlife.org/buckaringa.asp?Type=General Buckaringa: General] ] The climate is one of cool winters and hot summers in an arid region with an average annual rainfall of 329 mm. [http://www.australianwildlife.org/buckaringa.asp?Type=Climate Buckaringa: Climate] ]

Ecosystems

Buckaringa’s habitats include Hummock grassland, Acacia shrubland, low woodland dominated by Northern Cypress Pine, Mallee scrub, and strips of River Red Gum woodland along the creeks. [http://www.australianwildlife.org/buckaringa_ecosystems.asp Buckaringa: Ecosystems] ]

Fauna

Buckaringa holds one of the largest colonies of the threatened Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby, and the primary management objective of the reserve is the protection of this species through a fox and goat eradication program. [http://www.australianwildlife.org/buckaringa_wildlife.asp Buckaringa: Wildlife] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.australianwildlife.org/aboutAWC.asp Australian Wildlife Conservancy]