Disclaimer: The actions performed in this post were supervised by professionals. Do not attempt to approach a wild or captive animal without proper training or supervision.
Have you ever been to a zoo and wished you could get closer to the animals? Safely. Taronga Zoo Sydney is home to so many beautiful animals! Obviously, some of them I’m happy watching from behind the glass as a visitor for now, like the lions, tigers, or gorillas. But others you can actually get up close to, under the watchful eye of the wonderful zookeepers, to learn more about these special animals and share a connection only few people have. So what’s the animal I chose you wonder? If you follow my TikTok or Instagram, you already got a little sneak peek of some very sweet and beautiful dingos!
Taronga Zoo Sydney has daily encounters for a variety of animals, including the dingo, Australia’s native wild dog. Despite its appearance and classification, “canis lupus dingo”, the dingo has many differences that set it apart from the domestic dog. In fact, its closest relative is the New Guinea singing dog, named after the melodic howling or screaming it sounds instead of barking, much like the dingo.
The dingos we were going to meet today were Kep Kep and Warada, named after the Indigenous words for their personalities. Kep Kep means sweet or sugar, and Warada means beautiful. Before we met these lovely animals, we went to the keeper talk to learn more about them and dingos in general. This is where we learned that Kep Kep is an alpine dingo with thicker fur, and Warada is a coastal dingo. We also heard about their diet and regular walks around the zoo. Now that’s one lucky dog walker!
Now for the fun part! We met the keepers at the gate to the dingo enclosure, along with another pair of enthusiastic animal lovers. Because these are still wild animals, the experience is limited to 4 people so they don’t get too excited or overwhelmed. Before going into the “den”, the keepers explained to us what to do and what not to do while interacting with Kep Kep and Warada, like talking in our grown-up voices so as to not entice them too much. As much fun as it is for your puppy to jump up and lick your face at home, a dingo doing so can be a different story. Plus, the keepers are putting in so much effort to train these beautiful animals since arriving at the zoo 2 years ago as 5-month-old pups. We didn’t want to backtrack all of their hard work.
We were in! One of the keepers led us down into the enclosure where we would be meeting Kep Kep and Warada up close! The other keeper back up in the den counted down before lifting up the “doggy door.” Before we knew it, 2 bundles of joy and fur were launching towards us with speeds I’ve never seen from any domestic dog. Warada was a lot more reserved, like a polite little lady who gave us all a little sniff and went straight to her seat on her rock. Kep Kep, however, was a lot more up in your business, but in a friendly way. He’d come up to us all, give us a sniff, lick and a tail wag before moving on to the next person and then sitting down next to Warada.
We all got turns standing next to the dingo pair and taking photos with our friends, and then by ourselves. We all got to pat Kep Kep’s chest to feel what dingo fur is like (as well as just giving him a good ol’ pat). My friend and I related it closely to a husky’s fur, dense and thick, but a lot softer than we were expecting it to be. We also got the privilege of feeling what a dingo’s tongue feels like, although this part was NOT optional. Kep Kep was VERY friendly. I’m pretty sure I had peanut butter in my hair going home, because every time he would eat from the keeper’s hands, he would go straight for my hair or face! But I’m not complaining. I’m so grateful to be so close to such a beautiful Australian animal.
You could see the sheer joy on all of our faces when we got to meet these gorgeous dingos. There’s something so special about the happiness an animal brings to a person, especially those who want to care for animals like my friend and me. That’s why experiences like these at Taronga Zoo and other wildlife parks are a great way to build a deeper connection between the animals, the keepers, and the future wildlife warriors. Tata for now!
The photos taken in this post were taken by me or my friends.
For more information, visit https://taronga.org.au/sydney-zoo
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