Brisbane Wildlife, Kangaroos, Koalas and All!

Brisbane wildlife, as in most cities, is mostly about birds and nocturnal animals and, in Brisbane's case, with small lizards as the most common sight.

Australia's unique wildlife makes visiting a true 'foreign' experience, even when everything about the human side of the country looks so familiar.

© Kim | Flickr - Koala at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

The two animals people really want to see are koalas... like the cute little fellow shown sleeping above, and kangaroos... shown in the picture below.

Although overseas visitors have a picture in their head of cities like Brisbane as being small places, this is no longer true.

Brisbane is a major metropolitan city, and of course animals like many of the attractive and unusual Aussie animals avoid built up areas, as there is nowhere for them to live.

But I'll let you into a little secret that many people aren't aware of. You only need to drive out into many of the outer suburbs, and you'll see green areas put aside as national parks.

Many of these really cute creatures live there, and often quite close to the city, but its often hard to see them as they avoid people.

But unless you know where these places are, your best hope of seeing them is in the wildlife parks located close to Brisbane.

Our wildlife pages feature photos from both the parks and the countryside and coast around Brisbane.

Parks such as Australia Zoo of Steve Irwin fame, the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, Alma Park Zoo or Fleay's on the Gold Coast are places you can see them up close.

© Percita | Flickr - Brisbane Wildlife on the Road

Some of the wildlife in the parks, may not be native to the Brisbane area, although they are often Australian creatures that you don't commonly see. Both of the photos above and below, are taken at the Koala Sanctuary.

© Phailinn Ool | Flickr - Australian Kangaroo Drinking Water

One of the other more famous Australian wild animals is the dingo, seen in the picture below. This is a type of wild dog that has been hunted almost out of existence, because it is a carnivore, that shares our love of meat and is consequently a nuisance to sheep and cattle farmers.

Another animal people have a problem with, but which are vital to our own good health, is the bat. Australia is home to both the world's smallest bat and also the largest bat, the fruit bat.

© Phalinn Ool | Flickr - Australian Dingo at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

I said most Brisbane animals are nocturnal and here's one that you'll hear often at night out in the trees but rarely see by day. The possum is a cute little creature that lives on fruit, leaves and buds. It spends most of the night creeping from tree-to-tree in search of its food.

© GaryT70 | Flickr - Australian Possum at the City Botanic Gardens

You'll see lots of the various species of lizards, from tiny almost transparent geckos and skinks to the bigger ones like this eastern water dragon.

They look fearsome but they're harmless. I like that in an animal. You can read about the Brisbane wildlife, and find out more about the critters that live in the areas around Brisbane in our article on Queensland wildlife.

© Brewbooks | Flickr - Australian Lizard at the City Botanic Gardens

We cover creatures from out in the country and those that live on the coast near Brisbane on the Qld wildlife page.

You can learn more about the creatures that live in the waters off the Queensland coast near Brisbane, in our article on Whale Watching.

Checkout These Pages For More In-Depth Info on Brisbane Wildlife

Pictures Of Aussie Kangaroos	The Koala Sanctury ~ Lone Pine	Birds From Around Brisbane
Fruit Bats (Flying Foxes)

You can also learn about the many colorful local birds, and in particular Australian parrots to seen in and around Brisbane. An interesting use of that Australian icon, the kangaroo, can be seen on our page of Street Art.