The Shark Bay World Heritage Region is a mecca for visitors interested in discovering the unique and diverse wildlife. Ten species of mammals, 98 species of reptiles and over 100 species of land based, wading and migratory birds live along the shore and in the coastal desert of the Bay.

While several endangered mammals survive on Shark Bay's offshore islands, a large number of species have disappeared from arid parts of mainland Australia. This is largely because of predation by introduced foxes and cats and competition from introduced grazing animals like rabbits, goats and sheep.

The Department of Conservation and Land Management's Project Eden is  attempting to bring back endangered wildlife to Shark Bay's Peron Peninsula.

As well as widespread baiting to remove virtually all feral cats, foxes, goats and rabbits from a 1050 square kilometre area of the Shark bay World Heritage Area, a 3.4 kilometre fence has been built to keep feral animals out. By the end of 1996, foxes had all but been eradicated and around 95 per cent of feral cats had been removed. Animal species such as the woylie, mallefowl, red-tailed phascogale, rufous hare-wallaby, banded hare-wallaby, western barred bandicoot, chuditch and bilby may soon be introduced. Project Eden is set to make the Shark Bay World Heritage Area one of the wildlife wonders of the world.

 Being at the northern extreme of the southern wildflower varieties and at the southern extreme of the northern varieties - Shark Bay has the longest wildflower season of any part of Western Australia and has over 700 species of flowering plants. Of these, more than 150 species are of special scientific interest - many exclusive to the Shark Bay World Heritage Area.

The aromatic Tamala rose is one of the region's most well known and showy species. The Shark Bay daisy, Royce's Gum, Rogerson's grevillea and golden lambstail are also confined to the Shark Bay region.

The sceptre banksia puts out spectacular large flower-spikes in summer and, after good winter rains, everlastings often grow in massive drifts of colour that will surprise and delight visitors.

Countless tiny white shells of the burrowing Bivalve Fragum erugatum have formed beautiful white shell beaches which stretch for 60 kilometres - some deposits are as much as ten metres deep. Shell Beach is easily accessible from the Shark Bay Road.