Where to See Australian Native Animals in the Wild?
1. Koalas
2. Flying foxes
3. Cassowaries
4. Rock wallabies
5. Wallaroos
6. Tree kangaroos
7. Brush turkeys
8. Possums
9. Wombats
10. Platypuses
11. Crocodiles
12. Echidnas
13. Goannas
14. Dingos
15. Thorny devil dragons
16. Inland Taipans
In Australia, we saw quite a few Queensland native animals in the wild. Maybe we were lucky – but we managed to see many of the Australian native animals we had on our Queensland bucket list – maybe except crocodiles (which we were not either so sure we really wanted to encounter…).
Koalas are arboreal marsupials. One of the sublime places to see koalas in the wild is on Magnetic Island, just off Townsville. A popular hike on the island is the Forts Walk through the lush eucalyptus forest. Here, you can spot a few koalas lazily resting or sleeping in the tree tops as they do most of the day or calmly sitting on the branches munching on eucalyptus leaves.
Photo: Travel In Culture
Notice that the Queensland koalas differ slightly from the Victorian koalas since they have thinner fur and are different in size. The koalas may look a bit like teddy bears – and are adorable in real life, too!
Other locations to spot them further to the south in Queensland are Noosa National Park on the Sunshine Coast and around Brisbane, for example, in Brisbane Koala Bushlands or Logan City.
Photo: Paislie / Pixabay
Flying foxes are nomadic mammals. These animals exist in several places in Queensland. It is a protected species since they play a role in the ecosystem. However, they are not always so popular since they are considered a real nuisance in towns. That is the case, for instance, in Townsville. Here you will find numerous camps of flying foxes of three kinds: spectacled flying fox, black flying fox and little red flying fox. They gather in the trees and wake up at dusk. When returning to Townsville from Magnetic Island, we were surprised to be overflown in the darkness by a group of them.
10-day Queensland itinerary
Exploring Daintree Rainforest
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Also, in Cairns city centre, we experienced a colony of numerous flying foxes dangling from a large tree near Cairns City Library on Lake Street. It was spectacular.
Nevertheless, the number of flying foxes has drastically diminished during the last few years, partly due to heat wiping out one-third of the spectacled flying foxes here.
Photo: Anja Schröder / Pixabay
Cassowaries live in numerous places in northeastern Queensland – including along the coast around Mission Beach and Etty Bay between Townsville and Cairns. In the Wet Tropics, they are from Cooktown to Paluma Range. Since the cassowary is a tropical rainforest bird, there are also chances to spot the scary bird in the Daintree rainforest. It has been known to kill a man and poses with its dinosaur-like 3-toed giant claws a potential danger to humans and other animals. It is the heaviest existing bird – although the Australian emu is taller.
We made a short detour to Etty Bay to see if we would be lucky. It didn’t take long before we caught sight of one near the beach. Keeping at a safe distance, we observed it for a long time – and even followed that someone came a bit too close and was chased several metres by the impressive cassowary!
We found a group of rock wallabies on Magnetic Island. The rock wallabies are the tiniest kind of ‘kangaroos’. They hang out on the rocks at Arcadia on the eastern side of Magnetic Island. It is amusing to see them hopping around in their natural habitat. We even got a glimpse of one with a joey in her pouch!
The rock wallabies are endemic to Queensland and live in a vast area northwest of Townsville, Magnetic Island and Palm Islands.
Photo: Travel In Culture
The ‘next size of kangaroo’ is the wallaroo (between the wallaby and kangaroo in size), found throughout most of Queensland (and Australia). On our outback trip to Chillagoe near the Chillagoe-Mungana Caves National Park, we encountered a few wallaroos. Just out of town, in the woodland between trees and bushes, we saw some hopping over the track a little bit away. They were gone again as fast as they appeared! Also, tinier wallabies live there. Especially the rock wallabies thrive around the rocky formations. Also, the nearby Granite Gorge Nature Park has large numbers of rock wallabies.
Unfortunately, at the roadside, you often spot wallaroos and wallabies that have been incidentally struck by a car and killed.
Photo: Pen Ash / Pixabay
In Australia, the tree kangaroos are unique to Queensland. Two species of tree kangaroos are found here in the far north, the Lumholtz’s (found in the rainforest of tropical Queensland, centred on the Atherton Tablelands) and the Bennett’s (found north of the Daintree River). The tree kangaroos have adapted to high-altitude regions. They thrive in the tree tops, climbing and jumping around – and are clumsy on the ground.
Photo: Travel In Culture
Nerada Tea Plantation just east of Malanda in the Atherton Tablelands is reputed to have a couple of Lumholtz’s tree kangaroos in the trees on their grounds. Therefore, we included a visit to Nerada in our itinerary – even if doubting whether we would really be able to spot any tree kangaroos once there. To our surprise, the owner pointed them out to us in some nearby treetops right after we had arrived!
At the Millaa Millaa Waterfall south of Malanda, we coincidentally came across a handsome brush turkey! We didn’t look for it – it just suddenly appeared in front of the falls!
It is also called a ‘scrub turkey’ or a ‘bush turkey’. It is a protected species since it plays a role in natural pest management. Its general habitat is the rainforest, but it also inhabits some suburban areas.
Photo: Travel In Culture
Photo: Hirisflower / Pixabay
Possums live in southeastern Queensland and are protected under the law. As marsupials, they carry their babies in a pouch. We didn’t encounter any possums in Queensland (but a few weeks later, in a Melbourne park where a possum followed us all through the park – hoping for a treat).
Photo: Pen Ash / Pixabay
One of the rarest mammals in the world is the wombat. In Queensland, the northern hairy-nosed wombat is only found in one place – the Epping Forest National Park. It is a burrowing marsupial mammal that today is critically endangered due to the small number left. We didn’t go there while in Queensland (but later on our trip to Sydney’s Taronga Zoo, we did see a sturdy wombat).
Photo: Travel In Culture
Platypuses are mammals. Together with echidnas, they are the only mammals that lay eggs! Platypuses can be found in various places around Australia. An excellent place to spot platypuses in Queensland is the Eungella National Park, close to Mackay. Another possibility is at Yungaburra, west of Atherton. A platypus viewing platform exists there. We were fortunate to spot two platypuses at this location. However, it was not from the platform but from the trail along the river below the bridge. We just walked a few hundred metres and were able to follow two platypuses repeatedly coming up to breathe and then diving again into the water.
Photo: Robert Waghorn / Pixabay
The saltwater crocodiles live in estuaries, rivers and swamps in the Australian tropics, stretching from Mackay in the south to Cape York in the north. Therefore, also the Daintree rainforest is home to giant crocodiles. When passing Daintree River by ferry, we looked out for crocodiles – but we didn’t spot any! If you want to see Australian native animals like the crocodiles in Queensland in the wild, you can go on a wildlife cruise on the Daintree River.
Photo: Pen Ash / Pixabay
Echidnas live everywhere in Australia – from arid regions to rainforests, woodlands, grasslands and rocky outcrops. They burrow into the soil. Echidnas are mammals and are, together with platypuses, the only mammals that lay eggs! They are ant and termite eaters.
Photo: Sandid / Pixabay
The goanna is a predatory lizard living in the northern and eastern parts of Australia. It is quite a large animal with sharp teeth and claws. The goanna lives in open woodlands and grasslands – but can also be found near water and in the desert.
Photo: 1343024 / Pixabay
The dingo – Australia’s wild dog – can be found everywhere in Australia except Tasmania, especially in areas of forests and grasslands.
The thorny devil dragon lives in most of arid Australia in dry sand country and scrubland, including western Queensland. It has many names as the species is also known as the mountain devil, the thorny lizard, the thorny dragon and the moloch.
Photo: Karsten Paulick / Pixabay
The inland Taipan is also known as the western Taipan. It is endemic to the semi-arid regions of East Australia and lives in the west and southwest of Queensland. It is one of the most venomous snakes in the world, is extremely fast and agile and strikes instantly with overwhelming accuracy. It is not one of the Australian native animals you want to meet in Queensland in the wild!
Check also our 10 Days Itinerary Queensland in Australia:
Read next: Magnetic Island in One Day and Exploring Daintree Rainforest
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‘Where to See Australian Native Animals in the Wild’
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Where to See Australian Native Animals in the Wild in Queensland:
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Australian Native Animals Wild Queensland
