Ash and his mom Rosie at the Australian Reptile Park.
Since January they had been waiting for news like this in the Australian Reptile Park , located in New South Wales, one of the areas most affected by the fires last January with about 800 million dead animals . Some species such as reptiles and kangaroos had the possibility of fleeing from the flames, but not koalas.
In New South Wales, according to BBC data, ** some 8,000 koalas died and about 30% of their habitat had been threatened. **
Six months later the news is somewhat more encouraging, especially from the Australian Reptile Park where the first koala has just been born. 'Ash', as it has been baptized,** is a thread of hope for wildlife in Australia and for the work of organizations such as Aussie Ark**.
"It was an amazing moment when we saw 'Ash' stick his head out of his mother's pouch for the first time**! It represents the start of what we hope will be another successful breeding season**. Last year, we had seven koalas healthy and we are very keen to increase their numbers after wild populations were devastated during the horrific bushfire season," said Dan Rumsey, one of the Australian Reptile Park staff.
But there's better news, because the Aussie Ark organization has discovered around 30 koalas in one of Barrington's wildlife sanctuaries affected by the flames . His work is not going to be able to prevent forest fires, but yes that they are not again as catastrophic as the one in January.
The little koala is in good health and it is already adopting some of the customs of its species, such as the so-called 'papping', which implies that the calf feeds on the mother's feces.
Although it seems strange for humans, this strengthens the essential intestinal bacteria that are needed to break down the eucalyptus leaf.
The workers believe that this little koala **is about 5 months old** and will soon emerge from his mother's pouch. The reproduction of koalas takes place between October and January , and the gestation period is about 35 days.
The baby stays in the mother's pouch for about six months, then climbs on her back for another six while learning to eat eucalyptus leaves and survive in her habitat. Three years later it reaches sexual maturity. , and can have a life of about 16 to 18 years in captivity, something more in the wild.
Australian Reptile Park has already reopened its doors , did it on June 1, so visitors will be able to see the koala cub and its mother in full splendor.