The year 2020 began terribly, especially for thousands of Australians who lost their homes, some even their lives, due to the deadly wildfires. Among those most affected was the Australian wildlife.
Conservation groups have worked tirelessly to nurse injured animals back to health. In a study by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, it reported that over 6,000 koalas were killed in New South Wales during the fire season.
Nearly three months since the first fire-free day, the Australian Reptile Park in Somersby, Australia has announced its first koala birth since the wildfires. The joey is a little girl who has been named “Ash” by their keepers.
“We have a very special announcement… Our very first koala of the season has popped out of Mums pouch to say hello!” they wrote in Instagram.
“Keepers have decided to name her Ash! Ash is the first koala born at the park since the tragic Australian bushfires and is a sign of hope for the future of Australia’s native wildlife,” they added.
Ash is about five months old and is born to mom Rosie, according to park zookeeper Dan Rumsey.
“Ash represents the start of what we’re hoping to be another successful breeding season,” he told Buzzfeed in an interview. “It was such an incredible moment when we saw Ash poke her head out of her mum’s pouch for the first time!”
You might want to read:
– Meet the rare mutated Australian possum named Pikachu
– Artist honors millions of animals affected in Australia bushfires with a koala mural
– Australian koalas now ‘functionally extinct’ with only 80,000 left
