First glimpse of adorable six-month-old koala peeking out of its mother’s pouch at Edinburgh Zoo
- The joey was born at the zoo on July 13 to mother Alinga and father Tanami
- In around a month it will be ready to move from Alinga’s pouch to her back
- Devastating wildfires in Australia have seen 8,000 wild koalas perish
Keepers have captured the first footage of a six-month old koala born at Edinburgh Zoo as it starts to look out of its mother’s pouch.
The tiny creature, which is native to Australia, is seen moving around at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s Edinburgh Zoo.
The marsupial was born on July 13 at the wildlife conservation charity to mother Alinga and father Tanami.
The tiny creature’s paws emerge from its mother’s pouch in footage captured by keepers at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s Edinburgh Zoo. The joey was born there on July 13
It will take another month or two to grow big enough to move from the pouch on to Alinga’s back.
The joey should be fully independent within a year and will be weighed, sexed and named in the coming months.
Koalas are currently listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) red list – with the main threats being habitat loss, wildfires and climate change.
It will take at least another month to grow big enough to move from the pouch (pictured) on to Alinga’s back
Mother Alinga relaxes in the zoo. Her joey should be fully independent within a year and will be weighed, sexed and named in the coming months
But the devastating wildfires in Australia have killed 8,000 of the marsupials, almost a third of the entire population in New South Wales.
Ecologists say the animals may disappear from some regions and have to be reclassified as an endangered species.
As well as being part of the international breeding programme and home to the UK’s only Queensland koalas, RZSS supports conservation projects that help koalas in the wild.
Ecologists say koalas may disappear from some regions in Australia and have to be reclassified as an endangered species