The Roo Ranch - Deadwood, South Dakota
T
he Roo Ranch - Deadwood, South Dakota
If you have always wanted to see a Roo but you couldn’t get to Australia then a visit to Deadwood and the Roo Ranch is the perfect solution.
The ranch sits in the beautiful Black Hills in Boulder Canyon just 1.5 miles east of Deadwood. You can certainly get there from Sturgis too by going 9 miles west of Sturgis and then exiting at exit 30.
You will be able to see kangaroos, wallaroos and wallabies and other exotic animals living on the 13 acres of the ranch. The ranch is open to visitors from May through September when you will be able to learn about and interact with the animals.
There are 8 different species at the ranch including the Common Wallaroo, the Eastern and Western Grey Kangaroos, the Red Kangaroo, the Swamp Wallaby and the Bennetts Wallaby. There are four rare Albino Bennett Wallabies.
While you are at the ranch you will be able to interact with the animals in the interactions pens, see the joeys (baby roos) in the nursery and get your picture taken holding a joey in one of the two photography studios. If you can’t make it to the ranch during the summer you can arrange for a private tour in the off-season.
The ranch just keeps getting better for the animals. The large barns are air conditioned and heated to keep the animals comfortable regardless of the time of year. There are plans to add another 2,500 square feet of indoor exhibits which will include an area for birds, dingoes, possums and educational exhibits to expose you to even more of the Land Down Under’s wildlife treasures.
Some of the things that you will learn while there is how far a kangaroo can jump. You probably won’t want to compete with one since they can jump 30 feet and go as fast as 40 miles an hour! You will learn that a male kangaroos is called a buck or boomer and the female is called a doe or flyer while the baby is a joey.
Hours: May 1st through September 30 from 10 am to 6 pm (weather permitting) seven days a week.
Tours gegin every hour with an approximate tour time of 75 minutes. Bottle feeding time is at 2 pm.
Admission: Child: 3-11 - $5; Adult: 12 - 61 - $8 and Seniors: $5. There are group rates available too and season passes.
On Wallaby Wednesday children uner 12 and seniors are 1/2 off. Military Personnel with current ID $5.
Directions: The Roo Ranch is located on South Dakota’s Highway 14A in Boulder Canyon about 1.5 miles east of Deadwood or 9 miles west of I-90 exit 30 at Sturgis
Phone: 605.578.1777
Email:
info@therooranch.com
I would NOT visit this place again! My 1 year old daughter had a 4 year old Kangaroo, named Jasmine, jump up on her and scratch her face and neck deep enough to bleed while we were in the interaction area with the tour guide. They did not offer any medical attention at all. We took her to the bathroom and cleaned the scratch and put antibiotic on it right away. We decided to leave after this incident and told the lady at the front where we paid about it. She acted as if it was no bidg deal when we showed her my daughters neck and claimed that Jasmine had NEVER done this before and that she was probably just trying to give my daughter a hug. Whatever the circumstance was, if the roo had never done this before maybe there was something wrong with her and she should be checked out. Also “WHAT IF” is a big deal in the sitaution. What if she started biting, the guide stood there while I had to get the roo to let go & grab my daughter! NOT impressed with this place or their customer service at all. After paying $35 for 10 mins and my daughter being jumped up on…..NOT WORTH IT!!
Something like that could just as easily happen with someone’s family dog. It should MOST CERTAINLY be expected at some point with an animal that is normally not domesticated! Animals don’t know boundaries when it comes to being affectionate. As a mother of two very well loved and well taken care of little boys (ages 1 and 3) I would recomment you and your daughter buck up, learn to let stuff go and enjoy life!!!
As for me and my family, I can’t WAIT to take my children to see these beautiful wild animals. Hopefully everything will be safe and peaceful but if we get a scratch or two, we will roll with it and treasure the experiences we got to share together as a family…and have fun telling the story of how Andrew got scratched by a kangaroo! There aren’t a lot of kids who get to say that!
Kangaroos aren’t pets. They are wild animals. Period.
I was not impressed with the Roo Ranch either. Save your money!
Come on down, we’ve got roos by the thousands wombats, echidnas,possums, cockatoos, kookaburras, magpies and huge lake for fishing and water sports.. Our roos are wild, and you would be too if you had to put up with brown snakes, black snakes, tiger snakes and thousands of spider species.
We are really close to the snow in winter and enjoy warm 100-120 degree days during summer, Have great deadly bushfires but only if you are silly.
All this in just 5 miles..
Bonnie Doon Victoria Australia.
I agree with Hannah don’t be ridiculous. Kangaroos sometimes do try to give hugs and they’re also a wild animal. I’m sure it didn’t mean to hurt her and what were you as a mother thinking putting your 1 year old baby with an exotic animal?? You’re going to blame the zoo for your irresponsible parenting? Good grief woman get a clue. You would surely have the same risks of scratches with a cat as the kangaroo. I wouldn’t be sympathetic with you either. With a child that young you should most certainly let her look from a distance not jump in a pen with an animal that is huge possibly unpredictable and that could even be tired of being drug into pens all day for grubby little kids to poke. Ridiculous.