All 3 in 3 days here: ~70%
Ningaloo Marine Park
🇦🇺 Australia
Oceania, Australia 627 spp. recorded
Ningaloo Marine Park stretches along the arid desert and dry scrub coast of Western Australia, where red dunes and limestone cliffs meet the Indian Ocean. This protected marine and coastal reserve is famous for its vibrant coral reefs sitting just offshore, creating a striking contrast between dry terrestrial habitats and rich marine waters.
-21.760° S 114.224° E
🦜 Nature
319 Species sighted
9,466 Verified sightings From 2019 to 2026
May Best month
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
🌙 Most active after dark
+ 469 more species with insufficient data
Challenges you can complete here
All 2 in 3 days here: ~40%
All 5 in 3 days here: ~40%
Recent sightings in Ningaloo Marine Park
LIVEiNaturalistSighting Calendar
How many species you'd see in a day
31Jan
31Feb
35Mar
36Apr
38May
35Jun
34Jul
35Aug
37Sep
35Oct
34Nov
30Dec
Sighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
-
Coral Bay
Daily sight. prob.vs avg -
Cape Range · SS Mildura Wreck
-
Mangrove Bay
Daily sight. prob.vs avg -
North park edge
🏕️ Experience
Essentials
Climate
Temp °C Rain mm
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0.0 Excellent
Wallace's Line Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife? 🦜
Biodiversity
ExcellentHow rich is the wildlife?
5.0
Species by taxon
🦅 Birds 310
🐒 Mammals 78
🦎 Reptiles 184
🐸 Amphibians 11
🦈 Sharks & Rays 44
627 Total Species
828 Global average across 316 parks
29 Threatened 277 Endemic
🔭
Sighting
Very goodHow likely to see animals?
3.9
🎯
Top-12 Avg Probability
63% 📊
Coverage (182 species at ≥5% of 627 in the inventory)
29% 🔀
Taxon variety in top 12 (6 bird, 5 elasmobranch, 1 reptile)
76% 🔭
Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)
80 🌟
Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)
34 ⭐
High-prob species (>40%)
20 🏕️
Experience
ExcellentHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
4.9
Climate Pleasant High
Entrance Free High
Tourism Medium Medium
Trails Easy High
World Heritage Yes Bonus
What visitors say
I saw buckets of turtles, lots of skittish reef sharks, tons and tons of fish, sea cucumbers, some octopus, huge groupers, fields of beautiful coral, one very well hidden stonefish, and probably much more I’m forgetting.
I known in advance (with better research) that whale sharks can also be found in Baja California, a 2-hour flight from home, we probably wouldn’t have made this particular side trip.
I spotted a variety of birds including tern species (Caspian tern, Australian fairy tern), Little pied cormorants, waders and the Australian pelican at the beach.
We soon spotted turtles feeding on corals, a huge sleeping wobbegong, reef sharks and hundreds of colourful fish.
Before you go
What animals can you see in Ningaloo Marine Park?
627 species
Ningaloo Marine Park has 627 recorded vertebrate species. The ones wildlife watchers report most often on a given day are Silver Gull (about 80%), Reef ray (about 70%), Singing Honeyeater (about 70%), Green Sea Turtle (about 60%) and Whale Shark (about 60%). Among mammals, the most-seen is Black-flanked Rock-wallaby (about 50%).
When is the best time to visit Ningaloo Marine Park for wildlife?
March to July
In those months the park's 12 most-seen species average about 70% on a given day, against about 50% in February. Those are among Ningaloo Marine Park's wettest months, with about 30 mm of rain a month against almost none in October.
Can you see a Green Sea Turtle in Ningaloo Marine Park?
Yes
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Green Sea Turtle sighting in Ningaloo Marine Park on a given day, based on 201 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is June (about 80%).
Can you see a Humpback Whale in Ningaloo Marine Park?
Yes
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Humpback Whale sighting in Ningaloo Marine Park on a given day, based on 67 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is July (about 60%).
Can you see a Dugong in Ningaloo Marine Park?
Yes
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Dugong sighting in Ningaloo Marine Park on a given day, based on 17 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is May (about 40%).
Can you see a Hawksbill in Ningaloo Marine Park?
Yes
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Hawksbill sighting in Ningaloo Marine Park on a given day, based on 15 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is April and September (about 30%).
Where in Ningaloo Marine Park is wildlife easiest to see?
Around Coral Bay
The richest sighting zone is around Coral Bay, followed by Cape Range · SS Mildura Wreck and Yardie Creek, ranked by how many of the park's headline animals visitors can expect to see in each. See the zones on the map.
Is Ningaloo Marine Park good for wildlife watching?
4.3 out of 5
On the Wallace's Line Score, Ningaloo Marine Park rates 4.3/5: 72nd of 316 parks worldwide and 1st in Oceania. 27 of its species are reported by about 40% or more of wildlife watchers on a given day.
