Perth Zoo visitors to get a glimpse of baby koala, parents birth joey in first breeding season
Animal lovers might just be lucky enough to spot Perth Zoo's newest and cutest arrival — a seven-month-old koala joey.
The adorable joey has finally decided to venture outside its mother Mindjil's pouch and forage for some tasty eucalyptus leaves.
The baby — born about the size of a jellybean — has been monitored closely over the past months as it began to poke a little pink arm or foot out of the pouch until it was ready to climb out and see the world.
Now, as the joey grows in size and confidence, lucky visitors might see it hitching a ride on mum's back, providing the perfect opportunity to witness some koala-ty content.
Perth Zoo Australian fauna keeper Bronte Winterbottom said the birth of the unbearably sweet addition to the zoo family was a big achievement.
'This joey is pretty special for all of us as it's one of the first we've had in a few years,' she said.
'Last week was the first time we saw the joey eating eucalyptus leaves, being a proper koala instead of just nursing off mum.
'The whole milestone process is pretty slow because a lot of Australian marsupials take a long time to grow and develop, so that's why we aren't expecting (it) to be independent until at least another whole year.'
Perth Zoo visitors should be on the lookout for the joey, with their best chance to see the furry face during a free koala keeper talk, which runs at 3pm four times a week.
It's hoped keepers will be able to successfully record the gender of the joey in the coming weeks.
The joey's parents arrived just last year as part of Perth Zoo's role in the regionally coordinated koala breeding program.
Despite being a Perth Zoo favourite, koalas — who sleep up to 20 hours a day — are not native to WA. In the wild, they're found in South Australia and throughout bushland in the eastern states.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
West Australian
11 hours ago
- West Australian
Perth Zoo visitors to get a glimpse of baby koala, parents birth joey in first breeding season
Animal lovers might just be lucky enough to spot Perth Zoo's newest and cutest arrival — a seven-month-old koala joey. The adorable joey has finally decided to venture outside its mother Mindjil's pouch and forage for some tasty eucalyptus leaves. The baby — born about the size of a jellybean — has been monitored closely over the past months as it began to poke a little pink arm or foot out of the pouch until it was ready to climb out and see the world. Now, as the joey grows in size and confidence, lucky visitors might see it hitching a ride on mum's back, providing the perfect opportunity to witness some koala-ty content. Perth Zoo Australian fauna keeper Bronte Winterbottom said the birth of the unbearably sweet addition to the zoo family was a big achievement. 'This joey is pretty special for all of us as it's one of the first we've had in a few years,' she said. 'Last week was the first time we saw the joey eating eucalyptus leaves, being a proper koala instead of just nursing off mum. 'The whole milestone process is pretty slow because a lot of Australian marsupials take a long time to grow and develop, so that's why we aren't expecting (it) to be independent until at least another whole year.' Perth Zoo visitors should be on the lookout for the joey, with their best chance to see the furry face during a free koala keeper talk, which runs at 3pm four times a week. It's hoped keepers will be able to successfully record the gender of the joey in the coming weeks. The joey's parents arrived just last year as part of Perth Zoo's role in the regionally coordinated koala breeding program. Despite being a Perth Zoo favourite, koalas — who sleep up to 20 hours a day — are not native to WA. In the wild, they're found in South Australia and throughout bushland in the eastern states.
Courier-Mail
a day ago
- Courier-Mail
Humpbacks swim into tiny Shellharbour bay
Don't miss out on the headlines from Animals. Followed categories will be added to My News. Eight humpback whales on a heat hunt in a small bay along the NSW coastline have been captured in rare footage by a marine mammal rescue volunteer. Ty Peters spends four days a week during June monitoring whales off the Illawarra coast for Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA), an Australian not-for-profit dedicated to saving marine mammals. He headed down to Bass Point Reserve in Shellharbour, south of Sydney, about 10am on Monday and witnessed seven males chasing a juvenile female into Bush Rangers Bay. Mr Peters said when female humpbacks are on heat the males chase them and while that is relatively common, what was not common was the bay they swam into. ORRCA volunteer Ty Peters captured rare footage of humpback whales on a heat hunt in Bush Ranger Bay near Shellharbour, about 115kms south of Sydney. Picture: Ty Peters 'We occasionally get one solitary whale going in there and investigating but to my knowledge that's the first time we've ever had a heat run go into the bay,' he said. 'Getting eight whales in that confined bay is pretty wild.' Mr Peters said what the drones did not capture was the incredible noise that came from the whales as they hunted down the female. 'The whales have got a really deep sound and it vibrates through your chest,' he said. 'They exert a lot of energy, which makes them get out of breath quite quick so their sound is deep. 'Then you've got the slapping of the tails and the pectoral fins, imagine dropping your front door just flat onto ground, you get that sound almost like a cannon launch.' ORRCA volunteer Ty Peters said it was rare to see eight humpbacks in Bush Rangers Bay, which is about 75m across at its widest and 200m long. Picture: Ty Peters Mr Peters said about 40,000 humpback whales swim past Australia's east coast each year, along with southern right whales, minkes, false killers and others. He said they sighted about 150 whales a day if the conditions were right for the huge mammals to migrate north to Queensland. 'If the currents are pushing north then they don't have to do a lot of work, which means they don't exert a lot of energy and don't have to breathe as heavy, they just cruise,' he said. 'If the ocean is flat then you don't get water splashing into the blowhole so they're very hard to spot then, whereas, if they're having to exert themselves a little bit more than they're taking deeper breaths. 'If it's a little bit choppy, then they're doing bigger blows to clear the air.' About 40,000 humpback whales swim past Australia's east coast each year, along with southern rights, minkes, false killers and others. Picture: Ty Peters Mr Peters said one of the best vantage points to see the whales was along the Illawarra coastline and people could help ORRCA monitor the mammals swim past on their 2025 Whales Census Day on June 29 by registering at 'Whales are a protected species so there is 100m exclusion zone around whales for all watercraft and drones,' he said. 'We have quite a lot of problems with people coming in and flying 10ft above them. Originally published as ORRCA volunteer captures rare footage of six humpbacks on a heat hunt in a tiny bay along Shellharbour's coastline
Perth Now
a day ago
- Perth Now
‘Pretty wild': Rare sighting in tiny bay
Eight humpback whales on a heat hunt in a small bay along the NSW coastline have been captured in rare footage by a marine mammal rescue volunteer. Ty Peters spends four days a week during June monitoring whales off the Illawarra coast for Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA), an Australian not-for-profit dedicated to saving marine mammals. He headed down to Bass Point Reserve in Shellharbour, south of Sydney, about 10am on Monday and witnessed seven males chasing a juvenile female into Bush Rangers Bay. Mr Peters said when female humpbacks are on heat the males chase them and while that is relatively common, what was not common was the bay they swam into. ORRCA volunteer Ty Peters captured rare footage of humpback whales on a heat hunt in Bush Ranger Bay near Shellharbour, about 115kms south of Sydney. Ty Peters Credit: Supplied 'We occasionally get one solitary whale going in there and investigating but to my knowledge that's the first time we've ever had a heat run go into the bay,' he said. 'Getting eight whales in that confined bay is pretty wild.' Mr Peters said what the drones did not capture was the incredible noise that came from the whales as they hunted down the female. 'The whales have got a really deep sound and it vibrates through your chest,' he said. 'They exert a lot of energy, which makes them get out of breath quite quick so their sound is deep. 'Then you've got the slapping of the tails and the pectoral fins, imagine dropping your front door just flat onto ground, you get that sound almost like a cannon launch.' ORRCA volunteer Ty Peters said it was rare to see eight humpbacks in Bush Rangers Bay, which is about 75m across at its widest and 200m long. Ty Peters Credit: Supplied Mr Peters said about 40,000 humpback whales swim past Australia's east coast each year, along with southern right whales, minkes, false killers and others. He said they sighted about 150 whales a day if the conditions were right for the huge mammals to migrate north to Queensland. 'If the currents are pushing north then they don't have to do a lot of work, which means they don't exert a lot of energy and don't have to breathe as heavy, they just cruise,' he said. 'If the ocean is flat then you don't get water splashing into the blowhole so they're very hard to spot then, whereas, if they're having to exert themselves a little bit more than they're taking deeper breaths. 'If it's a little bit choppy, then they're doing bigger blows to clear the air.' About 40,000 humpback whales swim past Australia's east coast each year, along with southern rights, minkes, false killers and others. Ty Peters Credit: Supplied Mr Peters said one of the best vantage points to see the whales was along the Illawarra coastline and people could help ORRCA monitor the mammals swim past on their 2025 Whales Census Day on June 29 by registering at 'Whales are a protected species so there is 100m exclusion zone around whales for all watercraft and drones,' he said. 'We have quite a lot of problems with people coming in and flying 10ft above them.
