The sanctuary, as part of Pearcedale Conservation Park, is an institutional member of the Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA).

[4] Development of the zoo started in December 1998, with construction of a visitor center, a 2-acre (0.81 ha) wetland habitat with a lake, and more than 30 animal enclosures, as well as many Australian trees and other plants.

▣ Banded lapwing ▣ Banded stilt ▣ Bare-nosed wombat ▣ Barking owl ▣ Bush stone-curlew ▣ Central bearded dragon ▣ Chestnut-eared finch ▣ Cunningham's spiny-tailed skink ▣ Dingo ▣ Eastern barn owl ▣ Eastern blue-tongued lizard ▣ Eastern grey kangaroo ▣ Eastern long-necked turtle ▣ Eastern whipbird ▣ Eclectus parrot ▣ Emu ▣ Gang-gang cockatoo ▣ Gippsland water dragon ▣ Helmeted honeyeater ▣ Kangaroo Island grey kangaroo ▣ Koala ▣ Lace monitor ▣ Laughing kookaburra ▣ Long-nosed potoroo ▣ Major Mitchell's cockatoo ▣ Orange-bellied parrot ▣ Rainbow lorikeet ▣ Red-bellied pademelon ▣ Red-necked wallaby ▣ Red-tailed black cockatoo ▣ Regent honeyeater ▣ Rufous bettong ▣ Sacred kingfisher ▣ Satin bowerbird ▣ Shingleback lizard ▣ Southern bettong ▣ Southern hairy-nosed wombat ▣ Spinifex hopping mouse ▣ Spotted tree monitor ▣ Spotted-tailed quoll ▣ Squirrel glider ▣ Sulphur-crested cockatoo ▣ Superb parrot ▣ Swamp wallaby ▣ Swift parrot ▣ Tammar wallaby ▣ Tasmanian devil ▣ Tawny frogmouth ▣ Wedge-tailed eagle ▣ White-browed woodswallow ▣ Woylie ▣ Yellow-bellied glider ▣ Yellow-tailed black cockatoo Moonlit has successfully bred a number of rare and endangered species including southern bettong (aka eastern bettong), eastern quoll, Julia Creek dunnart, fluffy glider (yellow-bellied glider) and squirrel glider.

In 2009 Moonlit Sanctuary won the Victorian Keep Australia Beautiful award for Preservation of the Environment with an emphasis on local fauna and flora.

[8] In 2017 Moonlit Sanctuary won the Premier's Sustainability Award for Environmental Protection for their Orange-bellied Parrot Breeding for Recovery program.