Taipei Zoo’s first hand-reared koala, Bess, has made her debut at its Koala House, the zoo said on Thursday.
Bess is a little underweight — she is 2.5kg at age one year and two months — compared with other female koalas at the same age, but her monthly health checks indicate that she is healthy and growing steadily, the zoo said.
Her name, which was derived from “blessing,” was chosen by her care team when they began raising the koala, it said.
Photo provided by Taipei Zoo
Zookeepers began short meetings between Bess and other female koalas in April and May, allowing her time to get used to them, it said.
After close observation and careful assessment, Bess was allowed to join the main koala group early last month and started living independently about a month later as she got along well with the others, it said.
Koalas are solitary animals, the zoo said, adding that female koalas are willing to share an enclosure, but they would leave each other alone most of the time.
Photo provided by Taipei Zoo
The team has done a good job raising the koala, and has learned and adjusted during the process, it said.
The team has kept in touch with specialists at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary in Australia, it said.
The team was relieved to see Bess interacting well with other koalas, the zoo added.
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