Zurich, Switzerland – A new koala joey has emerged at the Australian House of Zurich Zoo after developing inside its mother’s pouch for around seven months.

The joey was born in mid-May following a gestation period of about 35 days. Koalas are born extremely underdeveloped, weighing roughly one gram, blind, hairless, and measuring only about two centimeters.

Guided by a scent trail created by the mother through intensive licking, the newborn instinctively climbed from the birth canal into the pouch. There, it attached to a teat and continued to grow, increasing its weight nearly three hundredfold to around 300 grams.

The young koala has now been seen regularly venturing out of the pouch. This marks the first offspring for female koala Téa and male koala Tarni. Koalas are solitary animals, and only the female is responsible for raising the young.

“We are delighted with the successful breeding of our koalas,” said Zoo Director Severin Dressen. He noted that Zurich Zoo participates in the European Endangered Species Programme and described the birth as an important contribution to the preservation of the species, amid regional wild population declines of up to 50 percent in recent years.

The joey will remain with its mother for about 12 months, learning essential behaviors such as climbing and food selection. Koalas eat only eucalyptus, and at Zurich Zoo they are offered 27 suitable species on a rotating basis.

At around six months, the joey begins a dietary transition by consuming special feces produced briefly by the mother, allowing it to acquire gut microbes needed to digest eucalyptus. Full independence may take up to one and a half years.

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