Edinburgh Zoo keepers were delighted today as they announced the gender of the country's only koala joey.
The little joey had her first health check up at the zoo, confirming her gender and weighing her in at 759g. Born last July, this was the koala's first official health check.
Now the hunt is on for a name, with the zoo confirming they will be choosing a traditional Aboriginal inspired name to match with her big sister, Kalari, born in 2018.
Edinburgh Zoo is currently the only home in the UK to the Queensland koalas and is part of their international breeding programme, with five of them living in the enclosure.
Lorna Hughes, team leader for koalas at Edinburgh Zoo, said, “We are thrilled our youngster is doing well after her first health check.
“Like all young koala joeys, she spends most of her time clinging to her mum, so we gave her a soft toy to hold on to while she was being weighed.
“At nearly eight months old, she’s now almost too big to fit inside mum Alinga’s pouch and has started to venture outside and onto Alinga's back more regularly.”
The number of koalas are currently in decline on the Eastern coast of Australia where they are naturally from.
The natural eucalyptus forests they live in are disappearing as well as wildfires in the area, making breeding programmes such as this one all the more important.
