Kuranda's Diversity 

Kuranda is located at one of the narrowest necks in the World Heritage listed Wet Tropics of Far North Queensland. The Kuranda area includes wet tropical rainforest, wet schlerophyll forest, and drier open forest, all in close proximity.
​(See Vegetation Map)

 This diversity of habitat means that there is also a diversity of wildlife in the area.
In particular there are a higher number of endemic and threatened species in the Wet Tropics than elsewhere in Australia.
This Wet Tropics video showcases some of the special endemic species of the region, what a special place we live in and a few of the people whose aims are to ensure this species diversity remains.
Kuranda Tree Frog and frog friends
The Kuranda Tree Frog (Litoria myola) breeds on small streams in the bioregion of the Wet Tropics World Heritage listed rainforest in north Queensland, Australia. The conservation status classification of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), is Critically Endangered and Endangered under the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The Common Mist Frog (Litoria rheccola) and the Lacelid Frog (Litoria dayi) are also listed as Endangered and share the Kuranda Tree Frogs habitat as well as being present elsewhere in the Wet Tropics. The Lace lid has been detected since 2016 by the local citizen science frog monitoring team after a 15 year absence however, the Common Mist frog has not been sited here in nearly two decades. The Kuranda Tree Frog classification is due to the very small total population and fragmented distribution as well small breeding populations of which thirteen are known. Only small portions are protected in conservation areas, the rest is largely on private land. Therefore, conservation of these species depends on the Frog Friendly activities within the community in the Kuranda region.
Frog photos courtesy of Rhys Starry.
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Kuranda Tree Frog (Litoria myola) male
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Lacelid Frog (Litoria dayii) male
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Kuranda tree frog (Litoria myola) female
Frog Friendly Property 

Learn about how you can make your property a refuge for  frogs and other wildlife.

Southern Cassowary  

 The Kuranda rainforest is home to one of the few remaining populations of the endangered Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius).

​This large, iconic bird is rarely seen, although there are estimated to be around 30 birds in the region. They have a huge impact on the continuity of many rainforest species, as it is in many cases the main and sometimes only distributor of their seeds. Urbanisation and fragmentation of habitat are putting pressure on the remaining population of Cassowaries in the Kuranda area. Birds have been sighted in the past few years due to the maturing forest food source,  since revegetation was started by locals and Envirocare in the 1980's under the Landcare movement. 
Northern Bettong

The wet schlerophyll forest, dominated by the huge straight trunks of Rose Gums (Eucalyptus grandis) and with a more open understorey, is home to a different range of animals. Among these, the Northern Bettong (Bettongia tropica) is one of the rarest and most endangered.

This small (1.5kg) nocturnal marsupial was thought extinct for over 30 years until rediscovered in the 1970′s in just three locations, one of these being the Lamb Range near Kuranda. Bettongs have long claws that help them dig up the truffle-like fungi that are their main source of food. For more information, see the Bettong article.
Northern & Spotted Tail Quolls

The Northern Quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus) is one of two quolls, possum sized marsupial carnivores, found in Far North Queensland. This is the smaller of the two, weighing up to 900gm, while the Spotted Tail Quoll which is found in thick forest on mountain tops and weighs as much as 7kg. ​The Northern Quoll has white spots on the body, but not the tail, and lives in open forest in rocky areas close to water.

Quolls are extremely aggressive when disturbed, and are famous for killing poultry. They do not have a true pouch, but a fold of skin covers the young quolls attached to the nipples. Quolls too are at risk as their habitat is lost. For more information visit the Australian Quoll Conservancy.

Butterflies & other insects

Kuranda was once considered the butterfly capital of Australia. Australia’s largest butterfly, the female of the Cairns Birdwing, (Ornithoptera priamus euphorion) is common here, seeking out Aristolochia deltantha vines on which to lay her eggs.

Another of the common species is the metallic blue and black Ulysses butterfly (Papilio ulysses joesa), which seeks out Euodia elleryana and E. bonwickkii trees to lay their eggs, maintains a looping path through the rainforest, often following creeks.

The rainforest is host to an incredible number of insects, with often a different fauna in adjacent trees. (See also –Things that Bite and Sting)

The St Andrews Cross (Argiope keyserlingi) spider (left) builds a decorative zig-zag cross over the centre of its web where the female sits and waits for her prey.  Like other spiders, the male's body is  only 3 - 6 mm long compared  to the female that is 10 - 16 mm long.