Our resident Australian wildlife
Kangaroo Island wildlife
Experience untouched wildlife on our property
Kangaroo Island, shaped by 10,000 years of isolation from mainland Australia, is a sanctuary for unique wildlife and pristine ecosystems.
Free from invasive species like foxes and rabbits, the island is home to animals you won’t find anywhere else, including the rare Kangaroo Island sooty Dunnart. Here at Sea Dragon, the island’s safari lodge, you can spot Kangaroo Island kangaroos, Tammar wallabies, and Short-beaked echidnas in their natural habitat.
The surrounding waters regularly have visits from a resident pod of dolphins up to 40 in size, as well as migrating whales during the winter months.
With both land and marine life thriving in protected environments, Kangaroo Island offers an untouched wilderness experience that’s perfect for wildlife lovers seeking a peaceful, immersive escape.
Sea Dragon Kangaroo Island is truly a wildlife lover’s dream come true
Enjoy our Australian safari ldoge
Our 250 acres is home to the majority of native species of animal living on Kangaroo Island. Over half of our property is a designated area of heritage protection of flora and fauna.
Our guests tell us they see more kangaroos and wallabies at Sea Dragon than they see anywhere else on the island and the reason for this is simple: most animals are more active in the early morning and late afternoon, which is generally when guests spend their time at Sea Dragon, plus our location is away from main roads and ‘human noise’ making the animals very comfortable.
Sitting on your deck, kangaroos will often come to visit. Going for a walk to our beach you will see kangaroos and you might also see an echidna, a goanna or perhaps a pod of dolphins passing through the bay.
Dolphins and seals regularly swim past the beach and whales pass by from May to September.
Our native species can be seen on the property year-round making Sea Dragon Kangaroo Island one of the best accommodations in the country to see Australian wildlife. All animals on the property are completely wild and for this reason, we ask that guests do not feed the wildlife.
Kangaroo Island birdwatching
Kangaroo Island is a veritable bird paradise, with over 260 species calling it home. Thirty of those species can be found at Sea Dragon specifically. Dedicated birdwatching activities can be arranged if you’re interested in getting a closer look at the island’s feathered residents. However, many species can also be spotted from your deck or during walks around the property. Let us know if you’re particularly interested in birds, and we’ll be happy to provide more information.
We also have a variety of native birds including the endangered Glossy Black Cockatoo with many avid birdwatchers staying with us for the fantastic Australian birdlife. Relax on your deck while listening to the sounds of nature surrounding you.
Iconic Australian animals found at Sea Dragon Kangaroo Island
Kangaroos & wallabies
Kangaroo Island, and Sea Dragon, is home to hundreds of kangaroos and wallabies. Guests will always see these beautiful animals during their stay with us as they are active all year round.
Kangaroo Island Kangaroos are a sub-species of the Western Grey Kangaroo and typically live between 9-13 years in the wild. They are one of the most placid kangaroos by nature as they don’t have predators like the mainland kangaroos. They weigh between 20-70kgs and an adult male on his hind feet can reach a height of almost two metres.
Tamar wallabies can frequently be seen hopping around Sea Dragon with their much larger kangaroo cousins.
Echidna
Echidna or spiny anteaters are often seen on our property and are sometimes spotted while walking to the beach or along our other walking trails. We, in fact have an endangered species called the Kangaroo Island short-beaked echidna.
Echidna are very unusual animals. They have spines like a porcupine, a pouch like a kangaroo, a beak much like a bird, and lay eggs like a reptile. They are one of only two types of monotreme in the world. The platypus is the other. Echidnas are small and solitary mammals usually between 30 to 40 centimetres long and weighing between two and four kilograms.
Not only can you see them at Sea Dragon, but keep an eye out for them within the low lying shrubs along the island roads.
Goannas & other reptiles
Heath Goannas can regularly be seen patrolling around the property looking for a meal. They are the island’s apex land predator and as such show little fear if approached by guests. They are considered harmless but please keep your distance. Many other smaller lizards also live on the property and snakes are seen occasionally.
Heath Goannas are also known as Rosenberg’s Goannas. They are powerful reptiles with sharp curved claws, strong limbs and long muscular tails. They can reach lengths of 1.5 metres. These goannas are the reason why there are no rabbits on Kangaroo Island. Every time the early pioneers on the island foolishly tried to introduce rabbits, the goannas would raid the burrows. We have a lot to thank them for!
Birdlife at Sea Dragon Kangaroo Island
If you are a keen birdwatcher, then you’re going to love Kangaroo Island, which has over 260 species of Australian birds.
At Sea Dragon Kangaroo Island we have sighted over 30 of these species, with many other Kangaroo Island bird species known to reside on the estate. Avid bird watchers can spend hours observing our thriving bird population. For those who would like to know more about Kangaroo Island’s birds, we supply a copy of the famous “Birds of Kangaroo Island” book by Chris Baxter and some small binoculars on request.
If you would like to explore more of Kangaroo Island’s amazing birdlife, why not consider a private birdwatching tour.
Thanks to our native casuarina trees, we have recently also spotted the endangered glossy black cockatoos nearby our villas.
Land Birds
Sea Dragon is the home to thousands of birds from tiny finches through to curlews and currawongs. Since the devastating bushfires in January 2020 on other parts of the island, we are now seeing the endangered glossy black cockatoos as they come to feed on our casuarina trees.
Raptors & other birds of prey
There is nothing quite like watching a majestic wedge-tail eagle with a wingspan of nearly two metres soaring in the thermal winds over Pink Bay. White-bellied sea eagles diving for fish just off the coast have also been spotted. Other birds of prey such as kestrels, owls, and falcons are regular visitors.
Marine birds
Many types of sea birds frequent the skies over our beach.
Our marine birds range from the white-bellied sea eagle and ospreys, through to the common gull.
Many water birds can also be seen at nearby Chapman River and Lashmar Lagoon.
Below are some of the Kangaroo Island bird species that have been sighted at Sea Dragon:
- Australian Golden Whistler
- Australian Hobby Falcon
- Australian Magpie
- Australian Pied Cormorant
- Australian Raven
- Australian White Ibis
- Black-faced Cormorant
- Brown Thornbill
- Crescent Honeyeater
- Eastern Barn Owl
- Eastern Spinebill
- Galah
- Glossy Black Cockatoo
- Grey Currawong
- Grey Fantail
- Grey Currawong
- Laughing Kookaburra
- Little Raven
- Nankeen Kestrel
- New Holland Honeyeater
- Osprey
- Pacific Gull
- Scarlet Robin
- Rainbow Bee Eater
- Red Browed Finch
- Silver Eye
- Silver Gull
- Southern Boobook
- Superb Fairy Wren
- Terns
- Wedgetail Eagle
- White-Bellied Sea Eagle
Marine mammals off the coast of Sea Dragon Kangaroo Island
The most common marine visitors to our secluded Pink Bay are regular pods of bottlenose dolphins who hunt past the bay on almost a daily basis. Occasionally they will venture into the bay to the delight of guests who happen to be swimming there at the time. Other regular visitors are long-nosed fur seals, who like their dolphin friends, regularly hunt past the bay.
In wintertime Southern Right or Humpback whales are occasionally sighted swimming past and have actually been seen to have a rest in the bay itself.
Seals and sea lions
Long-nosed fur seals are seen playing in the sheltered waters of Pink Bay as they patrol the coastline looking for a meal. Occasionally an endangered Australian sea lion will call into Pink Bay for a rest on the beach.
Long-nosed fur seals were hunted almost to extinction by early settlers on Kangaroo Island but have now bounced back and are thriving in many places around the island.
For an amazing wildlife encounter with these beautiful creatures, we include a visit and guided beach walk at Seal Bay Conservation Park on our Full Day Nature Tour.
Bottlenose dolphins
Bottlenose dolphins are a common sight around the Kangaroo Island coastline and regularly patrol along our shoreline looking for a meal. They are usually seen in pods of six or more and will often swim right into the bay.
Bottlenose dolphins are fast swimmers and can reach speeds of up to 20 kilometres an hour. Being a mammal, they surface to breathe two or three times a minute. They travel in social groups and communicate with each other by a system of complex whistles and squeaks.
Bottlenose dolphins track their prey through echolocation. They are able to produce up to 1,000 clicking noises per second. These sounds travel underwater until they encounter objects, then bounce back to reveal the size, location and shape of their target. Visit our tour page to see how you can experience swimming with these incredible creatures.
Our namesake
The waters of Pink Bay abound with many different types of marine creatures. If you are a keen snorkeller, you will find many different types of fish swimming around the rocks that line the edge of Pink Bay.
Leafy sea dragons, after which our property was named, live in the waters off Kangaroo Island but these creatures are shy and rarely seen.
Kangaroo Island wildlife to spot while touring
While we were very fortunate to have our first ever koala visit us at Sea Dragon in March 2024 (pictured above), it is not common to see koalas here. However, guests booked on our Experience packages commonly see koalas during their Full Day Nature Tour, a sight that will not disappoint.
Other species that can easily be seen while touring Kangaroo Island is the Australian sea lion colony (pictured at the top of this page) at Seal Bay, which if on tour you will view from the sand right amongst them.
You will also see the fragrant and often vocal New Zealand fur seal colony at Admirals Arch in Flinders Chase National Park.
