Can you feed and pat kangaroos at Featherdale Wildlife Park Sydney?
Have you ever touched or fed a kangaroo?
I bet all of us want to pat and feed a cute little kangaroo joey. Feeding and touching kangaroos in the wild is not recommended though. I’ve recently been to Sydney and that got me thinking can you feed and pet kangaroos at Featherdale Wildlife Park? The good answer is yes, you can pat and feed kangaroos at Featherdale Wildlife Park Sydney. In fact, Featherdale is one of the best places where you can do something like that in Sydney and New South Wales.
These are the best places where you can probably see, pat, and feed kangaroos in Sydney:
| Place | Touching joeys | Feeding joeys | Feed and pat adult kangaroos | General entry fee* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Featherdale Wildlife Park | book the “cute and cuddly” encounter in advance | no | Yes, and you can purchase kangaroo food for $3 per cup | adult: $34, child: $19, family discounts available |
| Taronga Zoo Sydney | no | no | you’re not allowed to feed kangaroos but you can pat them if they approach you | adult: $42.3, child: $24.3, family discounts available |
| Wild Life Sydney Zoo | no | no | you’re not allowed to feed kangaroos but you’re allowed to pat them | adult: $35, child: $24.6 |
The best place to pat and feed a kangaroo in Sydney
I’ve visited a number of interesting zoos in my life and those in Sydney are no exception. Taronga Zoo Sydney has been tremendous but you can’t really feed or pat kangaroos there. So I was looking for a solution to this problem and just went to Featherdale Wildlife Park.
This wildlife park is located on the western outskirts of Sydney and is not too far away from the CBD.
Can you feed kangaroos at Featherdale Wildlife Park Sydney?
Yes, you can! There are walk-through enclosures where you can get close to kangaroos, wallabies and pademelons. The good thing is you can simply buy appropriate food to feed them there. As far as I can remember it’s about $3 per cup.
Can you pat kangaroos there?
Yes, you can! Featherdale is one of the few places where you can easily feed and pat kangaroos. You’re also allowed to take pictures with them which can be quite fun.
Wait, what about joeys?
You might be thinking touching and patting kangaroos is a desirable thing to do. But what about their young, called joeys? Can you feed and pat joeys at Featherdale Wildlife Park Sydney?
You can but be prepared to pay for it. Joeys are unbelievably cute and I bet every one of us wants to hold a joey in our hands. Most places, however, have restricted access to joeys.
While it’s absolutely possible to get access to kangaroos at Featherdale, you need to book a separate encounter if you want to pat and hold a joey.
Do you need Featherdale’s Cute and Cuddly Encounter?
The short answer is yes, you need to book the cute and cuddly encounter if you want to get close to joeys. It’s not cheap, though. At the time of writing, they charged $200 for a group of up to six people per encounter. That’s about $33 per person. Please keep in mind that you need at least one adult in the group.
Is it worth the money?
If you’re visiting Featherdale in a group of six it’s reasonably well priced… but it’s still $6.6 per minute! It’s a 30-minute encounter and each guest receives a bottle of water. The price is fair if you think about the fact that it’s quite hard to get close to joeys elsewhere. There are places where you can touch joeys at a much lower price but those places are hard to find. Additionally, other places often do not guarantee that you can do something like that.
That means if you don’t want to depend on your luck, go ahead and book the Cute/Cuddly encounter and visit Featherdale Wildlife Park Sydney.
Would I recommend doing it?
I’ve already had the chance to hold a super cute joey in my hands in Western Australia. Those creatures are so cute so I would totally recommend doing something like the cute/cuddly encounter. It must not necessarily be at Featherdale, I just visited a small farm in rural Australia and had a similar experience.
If you’re staying in Sydney Featherdale is probably your go-to destination if you really want to get close to kangaroos and joeys.
I want to save some money, can I get close to kangaroos in the wild?
Yes, you can!
Marc, would you recommend touching kangaroos in the wild?
No, definitely not!
It’s one thing to get close to kangaroos in the wild and it’s another thing to touch them.
Can I feed and pat joeys in the wild?
You should never feed or pat a joey in the wild. The joey’s mother will do everything to protect her young and kangaroos are excellent fighters. They cannot know whether you’re a threat to her young or not and the adult kangaroo might hurt you.
And you might hurt the kangaroo, too. Feeding kangaroos isn’t a good idea. They require special food and they’re not used to eating the food you give them and it could make them sick. Additionally, kangaroos get used to being fed and what do you think will happen when you stop feeding them? Yes, they become aggressive! It’s a very simple rule, just don’t feed or pat kangaroos in the wild.
Marc, would you recommend going to a zoo or watching kangaroos in the wild?
You should do both. Go to a zoo such as Featherdale Wildlife Park in Sydney and feed and pat kangaroos there. Then go to one of the amazingly beautiful places in Australia where you can see kangaroos in the wild, just don’t touch or feed them. Check out the most beautiful places in Australia where you can see kangaroos in the wild.
What are the recommended places to see kangaroos in and near Sydney?
If you’re in Sydney Featherdale Wildlife Park, Taronga Zoo Sydney and Wildlife Sydney Zoo are the best places where you can see kangaroos. Just click here to read my article on the best places in Sydney where you can see kangaroos.
Best places near Sydney:
There are plenty of amazing places where you can see wild kangaroos near Sydney. Guess what? I’ve written an entire article on the 10 best places to see wild kangaroos near Sydney. Just click here to read the article and see some amazing pictures.
* entry fees: at the time of writing
