The Australian Reptile Park had some new adorable faces join the family recently. The zoo, located on the Central Coast of New South Wales, welcomed nine new koala joeys after a successful breeding season.
‘We are so excited to announce the birth of NINE koala joeys – what an amazing breeding season! In a time where every koala joey born is a new hope for the species, it’s safe to say we are all on cloud nine!’ the Park wrote on social media. They also shared a sweet video of the new additions.
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Among the newborns is Ember, named to represent the spark of hope he has ignited following the Australian bush fires which ravaged the country for 210 days, causing irreparable damage to large parts of New South Wales and other areas.
An interim report of the 2019-2020 Australian bushfires commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) found that nearly 3 billion animals – mammals, reptiles, birds, and frogs – were killed or displaced.
Also read: Australian bushfires impacted nearly 3 billion animals
According to Australian Reptile Park Director, Tim Faulkner, koalas are under threat throughout the country.
‘It’s becoming clear all over the world that koalas in Australia are under serious threat. A year-long New South Wales parliamentary inquiry has found koalas are on track to become extinct in the wild in NSW well before 2050 without urgent intervention to stop the destruction of their habitat.
‘The inquiry found previous estimates of 36,000 remaining marsupials in the state were most likely outdated, because they did not account for the effects of the 2019-20 bushfires,’ he added.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists koalas as a vulnerable species with a declining population.
The birth of these nine joeys forms part of a successful conservation breeding programme that saw seven new koala births for the park in 2019.
‘Most koala matings occur between the months of October and January. After a gestation period of around 35 days, the jelly bean-sized baby climbs up into the mother’s backward-facing pouch and attaches to a teat,’ the Park explains.
‘The joeys stay in their mothers pouch for about six months, then the baby climbs onto their mothers back and rides around in safety for a further six months gradually learning to eat their leafy diet. They reach sexual maturity at the age of three or four years and live for 16-18 years in captivity but probably much less in the wild.’
Australian Reptile Park is home to exotic reptiles from around the world and a wide variety of Australian native animals. In May, the park welcomed their first Koala joey, named Ash, after the fires.
Also read: First koala born after Australian bushfires
Image: screenshot from video
