Wildlife

The Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain provide valuable ‘greenspace’ in the centre of the city. Visitors enjoy observing our birds and many come just to see our colony of flying-foxes. You can also expect outdoor evening events to be accompanied by the occasional sounds of possums jumping through the trees.

If you care for our wildlife, please don’t feed them

Many of us love feeding ducks, other birds, and possums, but there are some good reasons why you shouldn’t. It upsets the delicate balance of nature and jeopardises the animals’ welfare.

Handfeeding makes them aggressive and a nuisance.
Feeding makes them lazy. Animals start to depend on being fed by humans. They become scavengers instead of unique wildlife that we can be proud of.
Human food can kill animals. Our snack food often contains too much salt and sugar, and can be fatal to birds. Poor nutrition can lead to bone deformities, reduced ability to cope with cold weather and susceptibility to disease.

Birds

Since 1991 about 100 species of birds have been observed in the Royal Botanic Gardens. Click here to find out about the history of bird observations at the Royal Botanic Gardens.

Mammals

Mammals include Grey-headed Flying-foxes, possums (Ringtail and Brush-tailed), rats and the occasional feral cat. You will encounter flying foxes rootsting during the day, but most other mammals can only be seen at night.

Whilst we are fond of our resident populations of possums, unfortunately many are possums that have been caught in other parts of the city and ‘dumped’ here. Our land covers only a limited area and cannot support an over-population of possums, so these animals - already disoriented from being removed from their ‘home’ territories - become even more stressed.

Frogs, lizards, snakes and spiders

You may encounter some of these animals in the Royal Botanic Gardens and in the Domain. Please be aware that all reptiles are protected by law. Many of our native reptiles have poisonous bites. Do not attempt to handle them. If you think you have been bitten, seek help immediately - contact a Ranger (0419 270 279) or go to the Gardens Shop for first aid.

Insects

The sole colony of Pearl White Butterflies (Elodina angulipennis) in the Sydney Basin is living in our Rare & Threatened Garden. The butterflies are living on two Native Pomegranate trees (Capparis arborea). Pearl White Butterflies are found from the Torres Strait Islands and Cape York Peninsula, south as far as Sydney, but they are most common in the northernmost part of their range.

Buff-banded Rail
Photo: Trevor Quested

Powerful Owl

^Back To Top