“100th Koala Born at Australian Zoo: A Symbol of Hope for Endangered Species”

A koala has been born for the 100th time at an Australian zoo. The Australian Reptile Park speaks of a special moment for both the zoo and the species.

Hayley Shute, a manager at the zoo north of Sydney, chimes in a video on YouTube out that the so-called joey has not yet been seen. The animal is about four months old and then still resides in its mother’s pouch.

The koala was discovered when zoo workers saw something move in the pouch of a koala named Ash. The zoo has been running a breeding program for koalas for over twenty years.

The birth is extra special because the mother was the first koala to be born at the zoo after the wildfires in late 2019 and early 2020, which had a devastating effect on the koala population.

“It is a symbol of hope that Ash is giving birth to our 100th koala,” said manager Shute.

The Australian government declared koalas an endangered species more than a year ago. Diseases, forest fires and habitat loss have led to a sharp decline in koala numbers in recent decades.

The government also released 50 million dollars to investigate how koalas can be better protected. Without such help and interventions, the animals could be extinct by 2050, according to experts.