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Project Noah Nature School
Macropus giganteus
I recognised this phenomenon as soon as I saw it. The flattened and dried areas of grass are cause by kangaroos, and in this case, by eastern greys. I have seen (and heard) kangaroos in this park, and they are mainly a nocturnal and crepuscular species which rest by day and, most likely, at night too. This region of the country is called the Granite Belt, and it endures massive extremes in temperature. Excessively hot (40 degrees celcius plus) in summer, and well below zero in winter. They might take shelter under the trees in summer, but during the winter months this area has ample sunshine, and is probably warmer at night than the surrounding bushland area. These were quite large nests too which indicate a mob, whereas the smaller marsupial species in the park (Red-neck Wallabies and Rock Wallabies) wouldn't cause this phenomenon to such a large extent. Feral pigs are also in the park, but I doubt they would cause this. I won't rule them out though.
Spotted along the Underground Creek Track, which runs along Bald Rock Creek in Girraween National Park. This is a small area of open grassland surrounded by large eucalyptus trees of various species, and lower level banksia shrubs. Very small streams run though this area and feed into the larger creek system. Entire area nestled between two large granite monoliths.
Spotted on Jun 3, 2015
Submitted on Jun 22, 2015
2 Comments
And this was a pretty big sign too. Some of these eastern greys are large animals, and they'd flatten the grass like this. Several areas like this near the creeks, so that indicated a mob of roos.
It's quite the feeling when you begin to recognize "signs" of wildlife. It's a point where you've gained a certain relationship to nature. So neat!