There’s plenty for animal lovers in the Netherlands to celebrate these days, thanks to the recently announced birth of a koala at Ouwehands Zoo in Rhenen. The koala’s birth is the first ever to have taken place in the Netherlands. Before the recent birth, there were three koalas, one female and two males, at the zoo, who arrived there in April 2024. Koala babies are technically called joeys. Those interested in seeing the new joey will have to wait a bit longer — he or she will most likely make their first appearance outside of their mother’s pouch at some time close to the end of the year.
Koalas are native to Australia and primarily eat eucalyptus leaves, which are poisonous to many animals, including humans. Koalas actually have special gut bacteria that allow them to safely consume and digest eucalyptus. Koalas are marsupials, and their babies are tiny, hairless and blind at birth. The gestation period for the species is about 35 days.
Joeys find their way to their mother’s pouches soon after they’re born, but they’re extremely small and can’t be seen for the first few months after entering this world. It’s generally possible for experts to confirm koala pregnancies when joeys are about two months old. It’s around this time that the mother’s pouch starts to bulge a bit, and careful observers can often see movements. The new baby koala was most likely born about two months ago, although the event was only confirmed more recently when the mother’s pouch began to grow. Baby koalas stay in their mother’s pouches and grow for approximately 6 months or so, after which joeys start spending more time enjoying the view from their mother’s backs.
Zoo keepers had to do a bit of background work to create the right conditions for the pregnancy to occur. There were several attempts to get things moving in the right direction before things worked out. The male and female koalas at the Ouwehands Zoo live separately and therefore don’t have regular mating opportunities. Zoo keepers had to determine when the female koala was in heat, after which she and one of the zoo; s male koalas were put together so that nature could take its course.
Koalas are considered endangered as their natural habitat has increasingly come under stress from floods and forest fires. The IUCN Red List describes the species as vulnerable. Ouwehands Zoo is one of several zoos worldwide that work together towards koala conservation. ‘The birth of this young koala is a wonderful milestone for our team and an important step for the conservation of this special species,’ states Marijn Poldermans, head of animal care at the Ouwehands Zoo.
Ouwehands Zoo is the only facility with koalas in the Netherlands, making the birth of the joey particularly exciting. The zoo has had a string of wonderful news this year when it comes to the birth of babies from threatened and endangered species. Three adorable Amur tiger babies were born there earlier this year. It’s also home to the only giant pandas in the Netherlands, Xing Ya and Wu Wen, who arrived in Amsterdam in 2017 on a super special KLM flight that brought them from Chengdu to Schiphol airport.
Although you’ll need to head to Australia to get a glimpse of koalas in the wild, there are a few places somewhat closer to home where you can see these fantastic and beautiful animals. Not only are there koalas in Rhenen, but they can also be seen at Duisburg Zoo in Germany, within easy driving distance from Venlo.
Written by Lorre Luther