Wildlife Tours Sydney
Travel Ideology offers the very best Sydney wildlife tours and gets international tourists up close and personal with our amazing Sydney wildlife in the wild. We enjoy showcasing our wonderful diverse and often quite bizarre wildlife as part of our Sydney tours. We offer the best Sydney wildlife tours for experiencing wildlife including kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, emus and much more. Sydney wildlife is some of the most interesting in the world and our tours put you amongst it. Apart from having some of the most dangerous animals in many categories, we have egg laying mammals, one mammal that excretes cube shaped poop, another one that propels itself through the air in leaps and bounds. Our wildlife includes animals that cannot walk backwards and many that carry their young in a pouch. Furthermore, we have some of the largest flying mammals in the world. If you are looking to experience wildlife in the wild, you have come to the right spot.
Unusual Sydney Wildlife
See our Australian wildlife including kangaroos, wombats and beautiful parrots and pelicans in the wild. You can see wildlife in a zoo but its not really wild life. In fact, some animals look downright depressed in their small caged environment. It is OK for some to go and see the animals in a zoo but we are offering something considerably more – a wildlife encounter in the wild.
Sydney wildlife is diverse
Sydney wildlife is pretty impressive for a large international city. Australia’s most famous native animals are by far its marsupials. Kangaroos, wombats and koalas are some of Australia’s most internationally recognised and adored animals and they may be found not far from our city.
We have unusual animals found in no other countries with some pretty impressive traits as well as large impressive birds and more than our share of beautiful colourful parrots. Whilst you will not find most of these wild animals in Pitt St, no tours are complete without seeing our amazing wildlife. Here are some of the amazing fauna that you may spot on our Sydney wildlife tours.
Kangaroo
None of our iconic Sydney wildlife is more loved than our kangaroo. The beautiful and iconic Eastern Grey Kangaroo lives throughout the Eastern third of Australia. The kangaroo is the largest animal in the world to use jumping as its primary means of movement. Furthermore, it can only move forwards and has an advanced reproductive cycle, making it a beautiful animal to study. It is from the macropod (meaning big foot) family and grows up to about 160cm. Moreover, the best way to experience wild kangaroos is to book one of our Walking with Kangaroos Tours. It is one of our most popular of our wildlife tours. One can also see them on our Walking with Wombats Tours.
Wallaby
The swamp wallaby is the smaller cousin to the Eastern Grey kangaroo and possibly the cutest of Sydney wildlife. It is also called the black or black tailed wallaby due to its blacker complexion especially around the paws, feet and tail as well as a squatter nose. It is found in a number of bushy southern, western, northern and northern beaches locations. They grow up to about 76 cm in height. To see wallabies, join us on one of our Northern Beaches Tours. We can also arrange tours that specialise in finding wallabies.
Flying Fox
Our Flying Fox (aka Fruit Bat) is the largest of our city’s bats. There are three species of flying foxes in our city with the most common being the grey headed flying fox. It has a body length head to toe of up to 29 centimetres and a wingspan of up to a metre making it one of the world’s largest bats. It is easily distinguishable from other species of flying foxes by its grey fur down to its knees with a copper-rust coloured collar. Add a Sydney Flying Fox Tour to one of our other Sydney wildlife tours. We also see them during summer months on our Walking with Wild Wombats tour.
Goanna
The Lace Monitor or tree goanna is a member of the monitor lizard family native to eastern Australia. A large lizard, it reaches 2 metres in total length and 14 kilograms in weight. It is commonly found in our city’s national parks. They are a good tasting traditional food eaten by aboriginals. Whilst not normally aggressive towards humans, the lizards have a mild venom they can inject if they bite. Previously, scientists believed that it was a bacterial infection. They are occasionally found in Ku-ring-Gai national park on our Northern Beaches tours.
Dragons
Dragons are types of lizards that are synonymous with Sydney wildlife. Two types of dragons are a common part of Sydney wildlife. Namely, the Eastern Water Dragon and the Eastern Bearded Dragon. They grow to about 20 or 25cm long. They occupy different terrains and as such do not normally live in close proximity. Consequentially, the water dragons live near the water, often near the ocean whereas the bearded dragons usually live in forested areas. Moreover, they are quite prevalent in the bush and waterside areas of certain areas of our Northern Beaches. We often see water dragons sunning themselves in summer on our Walking with Wild Wombats tour Sydney and Northern Beaches Tours.
Possums
Ring Tailed (pictured) and Brush Tailed possums are both common throughout our beautiful Sydney wildlife. The two are easily differentiated as the ring-tailed possum rolls its thin tail to hold onto a branch whilst the brush-tailed has a brushy fluffy tail. They are most active from around September to March. We even find them in quite highly urbanised areas. Moreover, our cute possums are nothing like their sometimes ugly counterparts found in USA. They often make their homes in the roofs of suburban houses.
Echidnas
Echidnas also known as spiny anteaters are one of two mammals that actually lay eggs (the other being the platypus). There are two varieties with the short beaked echidnas found here. They protect themselves with spines on their backs (like a hedgehog or porcupine) and can curl into a ball when threatened camouflaging themselves quite well. Thus, this unique part of our city’s wildlife are very difficult to spot but do live in bushy areas not far from the city. The male echidna is well endowed with a 4 headed penis. We often spot these toothless spiky creatures on our Walking with Wild Wombats tour Sydney
Wombats
Whilst not strictly Sydney wildlife, wombats are found within a few hours from the city. This awkward looking quadruped can attain speeds of 40km/h for short sprints. The wombat, one of the world’s best and largest digging animals, has a backward opening pouch to ensure its in pouch offspring remain free of dirt. It has cubed shaped pooh and when threatened will go into its burrow, blocking with its tough tendon toughened backside. The best way to see wild wombats is to join one of our walking with wild wombats tours. This is another of our iconic wildlife tours.
Dingos
Dingos are the native dogs of Australia. These wild dogs arrived on the continent over 4,000 years ago from Asia, They have successfully adapted to diverse ecosystems, from deserts to forests. Their distinctive yellow-ginger coat, pointed ears, and bushy tail contribute to their charismatic appearance. Dingos are highly intelligent and exhibit complex social structures, displaying cooperative hunting and communication skills within their packs. Whilst not normally barking, their vocalisations range from melodic howls to yips. We do not allow young children or people with walking disabilities on our dingo tours. Whilst none of our scheduled Sydney Wildlife tours, we can run specialised tours to see dingos.
Koalas
Koalas are one of the icons of Australia and an important part of the Sydney Wildlife. People perceive them as cute and cuddly. However, they are usually extremely difficult to find and live high in the tree tops, blending in with the trees that they sit in. Appearing as a small ball that is almost impossible to perceive, they generally rest motionless. They sleep for 22 hours a day. At birth, they eat their mother’s poo to introduce the bacteria necessary to digest the otherwise toxic eucalypt leaves. In the case of a bushfire, their natural instinct is to climb a tree. Now, we have said they sleep 22 hours a day, giving them 2 hours a day to eat and do everything else. They also have the highest incidence of chlamydia in the natural kingdom, so we wonder what they get up to in those other two hours and it isn’t just eating poisonous leaves.
Emus
This is another animal that is no longer strictly a Sydney animal. However, they are found a couple of hours from the city. The world’s second largest bird is a curious icon of Australian wildlife. Whilst it cannot walk backwards, it runs at up tp 50km/h and lays green eggs. Possibly, Dr Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham is not that far from emu reality. We can run specialised Sydney Wildlife tours to find some wild emus.
Pelicans
Australian pelicans, an iconic part of our Sydney wildlife, live throughout beach areas of NSW. They are beautiful majestic large black and white birds and although they mainly eat fish, are known to pick up small dogs such as Chihuahuas in their large beaks. The Australian pelican grows to about 40 or 50cm long and has a wing span of about 2.5 metres. Furthermore, the pelican’s beak can hold up to 13 litres. Hence, once it catches fish, it will flush the water from its beak before digesting the food. The best way to see some of our Australian pelicans is to book one of our Kangaroos and Pelicans Tours. We often see them on our Northern Beaches Tours, Walking with Wild Wombats Tours and Parrots Tours.
Kookaburra
Kookaburras are terrestrial members of the kingfisher family and grow to 42cm in length and weigh around 300g. The name is an aboriginal word representing the sound of its call, which sounds like a laugh. Don’t worry they are not laughing at you. Instead, it is a sound to establish their territory. They live throughout our city, mainly in forested, arid and suburban areas with tall trees or near running water. We often see kookaburras on many of our wildlife tours. We spot Kookaburras normally on our Parrots tours. They are synonymous with Sydney wildlife and the song “Kookaburra lives in the old gum tree”.
Parrots
Sydney wildlife boasts 5% of the world’s parrot species and a colourful part of our city’s wildlife. Seeing parrots on one of our Sydney wildlife tours is an experience not to be missed.
Cockatoo
The Sulphur Crested Cockatoo is a large white cockatoo. It raises its crest when feeling threatened or to threaten others. They prefer to live in tall trees and often feed on the ground. They can also destroy cedar fences quite quickly. We find cockatoos on many of our wildlife tours. They are abundant throughout many of our suburbs. The best way to see them is to join one of our Parrots tours.
King Parrot
Male Australian King-Parrots are the only Australian parrots with a completely red head. Females appear the same as males except for a completely green head and breast. All Australian king parrots have a red belly and a green back, with green wings and a long green tail.
Rainbow Lorikeet
The beautiful rainbow Lorikeet is common throughout our city and feeds mainly on nectar, pollen and fruit. It brightens up any day and over time will learn to accept food from human beings becoming quite docile. We often spot them on our Parrots tours high up in the trees. They are a unique and distinctive part of our city’s wildlife.
Other Parrots
Other common parrots in our city are the Corella, Rosella and Galah, the latter named after its antics. Two types of corellas live in Sydney namely the little corella and the long billed corella. We often see them on our Sydney Parrots tours. The crimson and eastern rosellas are prevalent in our suburbs but can be more difficult to find. Moreover, normally we find galahs, known for their distinct grey and pink coats.
Lyrebirds
Lyrebirds are named after the male bird’s beautiful fine lace looking lyre. He fans his tail out to attract a mate. The female lyrebird’s tail exhibits normal dull feathers rather than the lyre of the male. We normally find these beautiful birds on the rainforest floor, scratching for food which consists of spiders, worms, insects and occasionally seeds. They are excellent mimics and are known to mimic other birds but also chainsaws and camera sounds. In 2022, a lyrebird in Taronga Zoo was filmed mimicking the emergency siren two weeks after the real siren had been activated after a pride of lions had escaped. We often see them on our Walking with Wild Wombats tour Sydney They are easiest to find around July and August when they are mating, although that is not a guarantee.
Whales and Dolphins
Whales and dolphins are two major parts of our marine wildlife of Sydney that migrate off the coast from mid June to July and September to mid November. Whale cruises operate during these months. Humpback whales form the vast majority of whales that migrate past our beachside suburbs. A number of Northern Beaches vantage points offering whale viewing opportunities with the aid of strong binoculars. We may see them with luck on our Northern Beaches Tours. These nautical mammals make up yet another part of our city’s wildlife.
Flexible Sydney Wildlife Tours
With such a diversity, no trip to our city is complete without experiencing some of the Sydney’s amazing wildlife with Travel Ideology’s Sydney Wildlife Tours. We organise wildlife tours to see these amazing Australian animals and can pick you up from your Sydney hotel and take you on wildlife tours to places from the Hunter Valley to the Southern Highlands to Jenolan Caves and anywhere in between. We organise full day tours and part day tours to view our unique Australian fauna.
If none of our Sydney private wildlife tours allow you to see the native animals you want, contact us as we can normally organise tours to see animals in the wild for you to your specifications.
Our main wildlife tours include:
Walking with Wild Kangaroos Tour
Walking with Wild Wombats Tour
Australia’s Best Wildlife Tours
