Sydney zoo welcomes baby koala

Sydney's Taronga Zoo shows off a seven-month-old koala joey who emerged from his mother's pouch for the first time. (Photo was grabbed from Reuters video file)
Sydney’s Taronga Zoo shows off a seven-month-old koala joey who emerged from his mother’s pouch for the first time. (Photo grabbed from Reuters video)

SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) –Zookeepers at Sydney’s iconic Taronga Zoo welcomed the arrival of a seven-month-old male koala joey on Friday (December 23), who emerged from his mother’s pouch two days before the holiday.

The second joey to be born to mother Sydney, the yet-to-be named joey will spend another three to four month with her before going it alone, Taronga Zoo said in a statement.

“It’s a bit hot inside that pouch on steamy summer days, so he’s started to climb out and sit on Sydney’s head or cling to her belly and back,” said Koala Keeper, Laura Jones in the statement.

Each year, about 1.4 million people visit Taronga Zoo and it is now home to more than 4,000 animals.