Up-close wildlife experience; without the crowds!

At Fauna Australia, we believe that to truly appreciate Australia’s unique animals you need to view them at their most active: night, and without interference from large groups of people.  Guests are the only people allowed in to view and meet our friendly animals.  There are plenty of other establishments catering to mass tourists.

Sophie and Joe

These animals are all a part of important captive breeding programs that ensure the survival and preservation of some of Australia's rarest species, and enable people to get up-close and personal with friendly (not wild) favourites.  They are enclosed for breeding reasons and to protect them from predators.  However most are accessible to our guests, so you can feed, touch and take photos with many of them.  So you don't have to search the bush.  Have a look at our Wildlife Map so you can find your favourites. 

Up-close koala experience available free to guests. Don't forget your camera!

During your stay, help feed some of the animals, meet the animals or just relax and watch the animals come to life as the sun goes down.

Australian Wildlife to see during your stay include Koalas, Kangaroos, Wallabies, Wombats, Spotted-tailed Quolls, Cockatoos, Birds and Nocturnal Animals like Bats, Possums, Bettongs and Gliders.

   We are one of the only places in the World to have two of the three subspecies of Koalas, the Southern and Northern Koala and yes we do breed them.  The two species are quite different from each other, these differences being adaptations to their environment. 
  Common Name Southern Koala Northern Koala Central Koala
  Scientific Name Phascolarctos cinereus victor Phascolarctos cinereus adustus Phascolarctos cinereus cinereus
  Range Victoria and South Australia Queensland New South Wales
  Status Common Common Common
  Head/  body length 782mm (M) 716mm (F) 705mm (M) 687mm (F) 743mm (M) 701mm (F)
  Weight 12.0kg (M) 8.5kg (F) 6.5kg (M) 5.1kg (F) 9.3kg (M) 6.8kg (F)
     The three subspecies have different adaptations to their environment due to where they live.  A Koalas diet is very low in nutrition, highly toxic and very fibrous and they rarely drink water.  In order to survive in their different environments, which have severely different climates, they have specific adaptations, the main ones being color, size and the length of their fur.  

     It has always been thought that Koalas are grey to blend in with the trees and thus reduce predation, but this is not the case.  Adult Koalas have no natural predators, they are very dangerous animals.  They have very powerful forearms which possess a good set of sharp claws and they can move quite quickly when the need arises.  The grey color helps with heat absorption.  The Northern Koala comes from sunny Queensland and in order to not overheat and dehydrate, their fur is a light shade of grey and is quite short compared to the other subspecies.  They also have less fur on their ears to aid with heat loss.  The smaller size also helps reduce the surface area to volume ratio so they loose body heat more readily.  

     The Southern Koala on the other hand, comes from the colder areas of Victoria and South Australia, so they are a very dark shade of grey.  This helps with heat absorption and will heat up at twice the rate of their Northern counterparts.  They have very thick long fur which is nearly three time the length of the Northern Koala, and big bushy ears to stop heat loss.  They are nearly twice the size of the Northern Koala.  The larger size helps reduce the surface area to volume ratio, so they do not loose heat as readily.  This can be a problem, especially in summer when it gets quite hot.  To overcome the excessive heat and reduce the risk of dehydration, they will seek shade, climb down lower in the trees, sit on the ground or expose their white chest, which is very reflective to the sun or expose it to a nice breeze in the trees.

     The Central Koala is found around New South Wales.  This is halfway between Victoria and Queensland, so they have adaptations in between. It is not as cold as Victoria, but it is not as warm as Queensland.  Their fur is an intermediate shade of grey, their ears are less fluffy than the Southern Koala, but more fluffy than the Northern Koala, and they are in the middle of the weight range.      

     There are a variety of Kangaroo and Wallaby species for you to meet and feed.  At Fauna Australia Wildlife Retreat there are 8 different species:  the large Kangaroos are the Grey, Red and Kangaroo Island Kangaroo, the medium sized Wallaroo and the smaller Wallabies like the Red-necked, Tammar, Parma and the rare Red-bellied Pademelons which surround the cottage.        

Feed the unusual Snow Wallabies, or just watch as the joeys explore their new surroundings.     

     People ask us "Why do you have so many wombats?"  Well we like them and we want to breed them.  Meet and feed our rare Golden Wombat or watch the captive bred Southern Hairy-nosed Wombats from your balcony.

     Feel the difference between the Common and Hairy-nosed Wombats.  Wombats injure more keepers than any other Australian animal in captivity.  Why is this so?  They bite and they are extremely strong and agile for their size which can reach over 40kg. 

SPOTTED-TAILED QUOLLS

EASTERN QUOLLS

     Meet the Mainland largest carnivore, the Spotted-tailed or Tiger Quoll.  Capable of crushing bones with their powerful jaws and eating half their body weight in one meal.  Don't get too close they don't just bite, they swallow.  We have now added some Eastern Quolls to our important Australian Carnivore breeding programs.  Sadly our Tasmanian Devil passed away after 7 years.    

Tiger Quoll

     Australia was once known as the "Land of Parrots".  Talk to the cockatoos or give them some nuts.  Species include the Red-tailed Black Cockatoo (the mascot for the 2006 Commonwealth Games), and the endangered Major Mitchell Cockatoo. 

     Hear the call of the Bush Stone Curlew or feed the Cape Barron Geese.  Other birds include Parrots, Owls and the interesting Brush Turkey, which builds a mound of composting vegetation to incubate its eggs.

Our Cape Barron Goose breeding program is well underway with two goslings. this year.
     We do not see many of Australia's mammal species during the day because they are nocturnal.  Meet the Bats and other creatures like Possums and Gliders.  See some of the smallest species of Kangaroo, the rabbit sized Rufous and Brush-tailed Bettongs or gaze at the agility and speed of the Squirrel Glider.

Grab your torch at night, and view these remarkable species going about their nightly activities.

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