WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo Introduce Latest Koala Joey

WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo have introduced the latest addition to their koala family. The now 9 month old joey has been named Parker and is a welcome addition to the population of his threatened species.

For the past 6 months Parker has been growing in the safety of his mother’s pouch. This week he had his first weigh-in giving keepers at the Darling Harbour attraction a chance to ensure he is hitting his milestones. He passed with flying colours coming in at a healthy 1.24kg, a vast increase over his 1g birth weight.

Now he is growing keepers regularly see Parker hitching a ride on his mother’s back. He has begun exploring his environment.

Koala keeper, Chloe Richards, expressed her excitement, saying, “We couldn’t be happier to welcome this adorable new addition to the WILD LIFE Sydney family. Parker is a symbol of hope for the future of koalas, whose populations have been significantly impacted by habitat loss and unprecedented changes in our climate, including the horrific 2019/2020 bushfires, which is estimated to have killed 1 billion native animals.”

As he grows Parker will have a rather gross milestone to cross off. Mother koalas feed their joeys a sample of poo in a process known as ‘papping.’ This provides them with the microbes they require to ensure their gut flora is well prepared to digest the toxic eucalypt leaves on which they exclusively feed.

In 2022 koalas were reassessed and listed as endangered. This has granted them greater conservation protections to try and halt the decline in their population.