Wildlife Land Trust / Sanctuaries / NSW / Shiva’s Forest

Karen Gail and Peter Norman are the owners of Shiva’s Forest, a property located in Crystal Creek, approximately 10km west of Murwillumbah, New South Wales. The property is a dedicated wildlife sanctuary and is used for education and wildlife rehabilitation, and it is Karen and Peter’s intent to preserve, maintain and enhance secure habitat for the protection of the creek, land, flora and fauna as a sanctuary and for others to learn from.  Shiva’s Forest is furthermore a part of the Land for Wildlife program and is registered with a Property Vegetation Plan (PVP) with the Northern Rivers Catchment Authority. Peter is a qualified Bush Regenerator, and both Peter and Karen are avid conservationists, bird watchers, and record keepers.

The sanctuary covers 12.84 hectares of sub-tropical riparian rain forest, and features 400 metres of creek frontage intersected by 2 gullies spanning to wet sclerophyll into dry sclerophyll on steep rocky ridges.  While some old growth species are present in remnant rain forest pockets, the remainder is predominantly 40 year regrowth, aside from 8,000 trees that have been planted over last 10 years

An abundance of wildlife species are known to occur on Shiva’s Forest, with 123 bird, 36 reptile, 6 bat and 24 butterfly species having been so far identified. Among these are several threatened, vulnerable and endangered species. Wompoo fruit doves (Ptilinopus magnificus), satin bower birds (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus), brush turkeys (Alectura lathami), brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) and sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps) are among the wildlife frequently spotted on the sanctuary.