Wildlife Parks, Eco-Accommodation, Wildlife Tours
in Australia or led by Australian Operators
Australia is different! According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 87% of Australia’s mammals, 45% of its birds, 93% of its reptiles, 94% of its amphibians, 85% of the inshore fish in southern, temperate-zone waters, and 86% of vascular plants are endemic: that is, they are found nowhere else.
Australian habitats include snow-capped mountains, mountain heaths, tropical rainforest, Eucalyptus forests and woodlands, sandy or stony deserts, low arid shrublands,salt lakes, freshwater lakes, desert grasses, tropical and subtropical coral reefs, species-rich temperate marine habitats, and more, with many variations on each. The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem, with a high diversity of species and associated habitats.
Finding wildlife experiences offered by our members and others
Including tours, eco-accommodation,wildlife parks etc. plus some general information about the various regions
- Search by region (state, territory, international tours)
- Search by animal type (species or group)
- Search by habitat (marine, forest etc.)
- Search by activity (birdwatching, cruising etc.)
.Also, click here for a map showing the spread of member businesses throughout Australia offering accommodation, wildlife attractions and tours (note, the map shows only the location of the tour operation offices: see other pages to find where their tours actually go)
Other information about Australia
Wildlife:
Find many facts about the ecology, behaviour and evolutionary relationships of our wildlife, where you might see them, and how you can help them, on the sub-menus under the Wildlife menu at the top of the page.
Cities and other major locations
The map shows some of the best-known localities in Australia.
Also see:
- Australia’s National Landscapes (not indicated on this map): “Australia’s National Landscapes Program identified 16 of Australia’s most spectacular regions offering uniquely Australian experiences.”
- Australia’s marine parks
Areas recognized as biodiversity “hotspots”
These are regions of high numbers of species and/or diversity of habitats.
http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/conservation/hotspots/national-biodiversityhotspots
Major fauna/flora/climate regions
An approximation of he Australian climatic and biogeographic regions classified by Burbidge in the Australian Journal of Botany, 1960:
- Tropical – technically everything above the Tropic of Capricorn is in the tropics, but this refers to the wetter regions of high summer rainfall and the associated fauna and flora
- The McPherson MacLeay overlap (the smudged mid-green area halfway up the east coast is called), an overlapping subtropical area of tropical and temperate elements conveying a high biodiversity to the region,
- Temperate – generally cooler and with wet winters and dry summers.
- Interzone – gradation or mingling Eremaean and other elements
- Eremaean – roughly corresponds with what we think of as “the outback” – deserts and other arid or semi-arid areas with low and highly unpredictable rainfall, and the fauna and flora adapted to this.
See http://www.publish.csiro.au/bt/BT9600075