Gumbuya Park has a selection of native Australian wildlife in our animal sanctuary area.
This area also contains a large variety of native birds, including a variety of pheasants and parrots.
Dingoes
Gumbuya Park is home to four adult dingoes.
Middy and Summer our five year old Tropical Dingoes who come from Far North Queensland.
Victorian Alpine Dingo – Mungi (Mungee) meaning lightening in Aboriginal is our black and tan male.
Victorian Alpine Dingo – Yindi (Yindee)which means sunshine is our tan female.
Close encounter packages are available with our extreamly friendly Alpine Dingoes daily.
Unlike the domestic dog, dingoes breed only once a year and generally do not bark. They have a more independent temperament than domestic dogs, they are extremely agile and are known to climb trees. Dingoes do not generally form packs; they more often travel in pairs or small family groups.
Cockatoos
Gumbuya Park is home to many different varieties of colourful, native Australian birds.
The cockatoos at Gumbuya even know how to talk!
Cockatoos share many features with other parrots including the characteristic curved beak shape. They differ, however in a number of characteristics, including the often spectacular moveable headcrest.
Wombats
Gumbuya Park is home to two female Common Wombats Wilma and Wendy.
Common Wombats grow to about one metre in length and have short legs and tail. They are found in forested, mountainous, and heathland areas of south-eastern Australia and Tasmania.
Duck Pond
The duck pond is home to wild Black Ducks, Wood Ducks and Black Swans.
The wild ducks nest on the island in the middle of the pond and in the springtime can be seen with their ducklings.
On occasion Mountain Ducks visit the pond as well.
When the weather is warm, the kangaroos venture up to the pond to cool down.
Emus
Emus in the park can be hand fed. Emu food can be purchased from the cafe.
The Emu is the largest bird native to Australia. It is also the second-largest bird in the world (by height); the ostrich is the largest.
The soft-feathered flightless birds can reach up to 2m in height.
The Emu is common over most of mainland Australia and, if necessary, can sprint at 50 km/h for some distance at a time.
They are nomadic birds and may travel long distances to find food. They feed on a wide variety of plants and insects.
Aviary Walk
The aviary walk area is home to a large variety of wildlife including:
- Red Tail Black Cockatoos
- Sulphur Crested Cockatoos
- Galahs and Corellas
- Electus Parrots
- Alexanderine and King Parrots
- Rainbow Lorrikeets
- Mountain Ducks
- Plumed Whistling Ducks (native to Australia)
- A variety of Peacocks
- Cape Barron Geese
- Northern Swamp Wallabies
- Paddymelons
- Albino Tamar Wallabies
- Silky bantams
- Indian Jungle fowl bantams
- Guinea fowl
- “Wendy & Wilma” the Wombats
- “Ned” our lovable Red Kangaroo
- A large range of ornamental pheasants
Wallabies
Varieties of wallabies in the animal sanctuary are Redneck, Swap and Tammar.
Wallabies are widely distributed across Australia, particularly in more remote and heavily timbered areas.
They are extremely similar to Kangaroo’s however are significantly smaller than their larger siblings.
Tiger Quolls
Meet Bonny and Clyde the Tiger Quolls.
Tiger Quolls are also known as the spotted-tail quoll, the spotted quoll, the spotted-tailed dasyure or (erroneously) the tiger cat, is a carnivorus marsupial native to Australia. It is mainland Australia’s largest, and the world’s longest (the biggest is the Tasmanina Devil), living carnivorous marsupial.
Tiger Quolls are more than 50% larger than other quolls and, unlike the other species, have white spots that extend along their tail. Tiger Quolls have bright eyes, a moist pink nose and sharp teeth. They have a pointed snout and a long tail. Their fur has a coarse texture and is red-brown to dark brown with white spots of varying size above and pale below.
Tiger Quolls hunt mostly at night. Their diet appears to consist primarily of medium-sized mammals (up to 70%), including gliders, possums, rabbits, and even small wallabies. They also like carrion (dead animals), birds and eggs. Small mammals, reptiles and invertebrates are also a significant part of the diet, particularly for juvenile quolls.
Koala’s
Koala Exhibit is now open.
Koala encounters are held daily, bookings can be made at the Cafe.
Both our new Koala’s have been named. Jarrah is our female Koala who is a Southern Koala and Koola our male is a Northern Koala. It is amazing how different they are in both fur and personality. Jarrah is a little devil always on the move and very inquisitive. Koola likes nothing better than to take long leisurely naps. Koola and Jarrah have bonded really well, so hopefully it won’t be too long before we have a new arrival at Gumbuya Park.
Koola
Did you know??
- The Koala is not a bear
- Koalas are NOCTURNAL animals
- The Koala is a mammal
- They live in tall eucalyptus ( gumtree ) forests and low eucalyptus woodlands
- They are not officially classified as endangered, but the population of wild Koala’s has dropped by 90% in less than 10 years.
- The closest relative is a Wombat, as they both have pouches that open to the rear
- Koala young are called – Cubs
- Koalas live for 20 or more years
- The koala can run as fast as a rabbit
- They sleep for up to 19 hours a day
- Their Behavior is Clumsy but they are strong swimmers
- They live in loose-knit groups if enough suitable trees are present, but only one animal per express territoriality during the breeding season, bellowing and grasping the base of a tree while rubbing their chest against it, thus leaving a scent marking with their chest gland. Females bellow as well during this time but are not territorial
- Koalas also communicate with each other by making a noise like a snore and then a belch, known as a “bellow
- An adult koala eats about 1/2 to 1 kilogram of leaves each night
- Koalas don’t normally need to drink
Jarrah