Two female koalas were announced as fresh additions to the fresh York City's Rosamond Gifford Zoo, Tuesday morning, May 17.
Koalas Kumiri and Kolet from Australia
The Australian marsupials with big ears are well renowned for their endearing smiles and dozy personalities.
Kumiri and Kolet are the names of the zoo's two koalas.
The two came from the Koala Conservation and Education Loan Program, which aims to inform the public and inspire concern for the species. They arrived at the zoo this month.
Participation in the program contributes to the funding of research and conservation projects run by the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance in partnership with international koala conservation partners.
It's always exciting to see a new species at the zoo, but when they're as uncommon as these koalas, the anticipation is tremendous, according to Friends Executive Director Carrie Large.
These koalas give the zoo a chance to carry out its conservation purpose by caring for a species that is becoming more and more endangered and teaching the general public to encourage them to care about all animals.
Koalas are not frequently found in American zoos, according to Ted Fox, the Rosamond Gifford Zoo executive director.
The Australian government, alongside the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, has granted permission to only 10 zoos in the country to take care of koalas.
The zoo's conservation goal has reached a significant turning point with the temporary acquisition or loan of these koalas, which attests to the professionalism and credentials of their animal care staff.
With regular paid entry, zoo visitors will be able to see the koalas every day until early September.
Members are admitted free of charge, CNY Central reported.
To help visitors understand more about these threatened creatures, Koala Outpost will have interesting educational signage.
The zoo will provide daily keeper talks and chances to watch our koalas eating their distinctive eucalyptus-leaf diet.
All of the zoo's educational activities, events, and programs will have Australian themes, according to Rosamond Gifford Zoo.
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Koalas
Koalas are indigenous to the forests of Australia, where their numbers are quickly dwindling.
Wild koala populations, formerly numbering in the millions, are now thought to be between 43,000 and 80,000.
Their habitat degradation due to deforestation and catastrophic forest fires in Australia is blamed for this reduction.
Koalas are arboreal animals, therefore when their habitats are destroyed, they must leave their trees and go in search of food and a new home.
These creatures suffer from this displacement, which increases their risk of being killed by dogs, automobiles, or diseases that further reduce their population.
According to the Australian Koala Foundation, one noteworthy truth about koalas is that they are not bears.
Because they are marsupials rather than placental or "eutherian" mammals, their young are born immature and continue to grow in the protection of a pouch.
The biggest danger to koalas is habitat loss.
Land clearing, bushfires, and eucalyptus diseases like "dieback," which kill trees, are the main causes of this.
Depending on some variables, younger breeding females often give birth to only one Joey each year.
But not every female in a colony of wild animals will reproduce every year. Some, particularly older ladies, only have young every two to three years, the Australian Koala Foundation reported.
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