18-02-2025
Baby koala born at San Diego Zoo: Here's what makes this joey so special
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The San Diego Zoo has announced the birth of a baby koala, the first at the zoo in two years. You can see her now with her mother in their habitat at the San Diego Zoo.
The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance announced Tuesday the San Diego Zoo has a new baby female koala who turned seven months old on Valentine's Day.
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The koala joey was born to mother Adori, and was the first koala birth at the zoo in two years.
The wildlife alliance says this year marks 100 years since the first two koalas arrived in San Diego as a gift from Sydney, Australia. Since 1925, the San Diego Zoo has become home to the largest population of koalas and operates the most successful koala breeding program outside of Australia.
To announce the arrival and to celebrate 100 years of friendship and partnership with Taronga Conservation Society Australia, Taronga named the koala joey Inala, which means place of peace or rest and is from the Wakka Wakka / Jungara area in Queensland, Australia.
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Koala joeys are about the size of a jellybean when they are born, and are hairless, blind and still developing, according to the wildlife alliance. Guided by their senses of smell and touch, they make their way into their mother's pouch to nurse, and typically stay in the pouch for up to seven months. After coming out of the pouch, they continue to stay close to their mother for one to three years.
The zoo says Inala has begun to explore outside of her mother's pouch and can be seen on her mom's belly or riding on her back. Inala is still nursing, but she has been seen tasting eucalyptus leaves on occasion as she grows.
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San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance experts study koala populations both at the Zoo and in their native Australian environments in an effort to better understand the species' unique ecology, reproductive behaviors and overall health to advance conservation initiatives for koalas and ensure their survival for generations.
Koalas are classified as endangered in Queensland, New South Wales, and The Australian Capital Territory under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act of Australia. The main threats to this species in their native habitat include fragmentation, disease and bushfires—such as the wildfires in 2019-2020 that burned 59 million acres.
The San Diego Zoo is located in Balboa Park at 2920 Zoo Drive in San Diego. Visitors can see the baby koala and her mother in their habitat at the San Diego Zoo's Conrad Prebys Australian Outback.
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