Mount Etna Caves is a national park in
The Caves,
Shire of Livingstone
The Shire of Livingstone is a local government area located in the Capricornia region of Central Queensland, Queensland, Australia, to the immediate north and east of the regional city of Rockhampton. The shire, administered from the coastal to ...
,
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, Australia, 544 km northwest of
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
.
The park's caves are the roosting site for more than 80 percent of Australia's breeding population of
little bent-wing bat
The little bent-wing bat or little long-fingered bat (''Miniopterus australis'') is a species of vesper bat in the family Miniopteridae. It is found in Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vanuatu.
Taxonomy
The species was first describ ...
s. It is also one of the few places in Australia supporting a colony of the endangered
ghost bat
The ghost bat (''Macroderma gigas'') is a species of bat found in northern Australia. The species is the only Australian bat that preys on large vertebrates – birds, reptiles and other mammals – which they detect using acute sight and heari ...
.
History
The Fitzroy Caves National Park was gazetted in 1973 with a focus on the protection of the bats rather than the caves. In 1990, it was renamed Mount Etna Caves National Park. In 1999, the park was extended to provide more protection to the caves.
See also
*
Protected areas of Queensland
Queensland is the second-largest state in Australia. As at 2020, it contained more than 1,000 protected areas. In August 2023, it was estimated a total of 14.5 million hectares or 8.38% of Queensland's landmass was protected.
List of terrestria ...
References
External links
Mount Etna Caves environmental dispute digital story and oral history interviews State Library of Queensland
State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...
National parks of Central Queensland
Caves of Queensland
Wild caves
Limestone caves
Protected areas established in 1994
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