Koala fever strikes Taipei as 32,000 queue to see bears

At the Taipei City Zoo on Friday more that 32,000 people queued in a 200m line for a glimpse as two female koala bears, Liggy and Eva, and one male koala, Action, made their public debut.

The average daily turnout at the zoo is 10,000 people.

According to Cheng Yu-lung (鄭玉龍), ticket division chief, the zoo had a turnout approaching this figure in 1999 when it first introduced a pair of male Koalas, Patrick and Harley, to the public.

The last time the zoo had a similar turnout was last September, when it imported four king penguins.

Because Harley had just mated with Eva 10 days ago, zoo authorities said that they expect to see similar turnouts, especially during the weekends, for the next few months.

"Everybody is waiting for the good news. However, we won't know for sure whether the mating was successful for 30 to 40 days," said Lin Hua-ching (林華慶), the zoo's animal division chief. "Even so, the public won't be able to see the cub until six or eight months later."

It's difficult to detect the pregnancy of a female koala bear since they are marsupials, or pouched mammals, Lin said.

"They give birth very early to a helpless embryo. The young animal climbs from the mother's birth canal to the nipples located in the pouch and continues to develop there," Lin said.

The young animal often stays in the pouch for about six months before it sticks its head out. It stays there for one or two more months before eventually coming out of the pouch and becoming fully independent.

A two-year-old koala bear is considered to be fully grown. Ages four and five are considered to be the perfect age for mating.

Both Harley and Patrick are five years old, while Eva and Liggy are four and Action is two.

iI 1999, Australia leased Patrick and Harley, who are half brothers, to the zoo, which in return offered NT$3 million to a conservation fund.

To help them produce offspring of their own, Australia loaned the zoo Liggy and Eva as well as Action, who has no blood relationship to any of the other four koalas.

The zoo currently is in the process of building a bigger exhibition room of 200 pings to accommodate the five guests. When they move to the new room at the end of next year, the smaller room will be used as the baby koala's room.