Hi, my name is Joey Koala and “joey” is what people call me because I am a baby koala.

I am a marsupial, meaning that when I was born I was about the size of a kidney bean and I crawled to my mother’s pouch until I was ready for the world. Inside my mom’s pouch I could nurse and grow. I stayed in my mom’s pouch for about 6 months.

That’s me with my mom

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After six months, I was ready to open my eyes and hang out in the world around me. I like to ride “piggyback” on my mom until I am ready to do some climbing of my own.

Chowing down those leaves!

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When I am all grown, I will eat the leaves of the eucalyptus tree. I will eat over a pound of these leaves each and everyday. The eucalyptus leaves are poisonous to other animals, but I have a special chemical in my stomach that will allow me to digest them when the time comes. My native habitat is in the forests of Eastern Australia.

All About Me

Here I am with my mom again

My cousin, Vinnie

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More family movies

I do a lot of sleeping and even as an adult I will sleep about 20 hours a day. I always like to move slowly and I am not ever going to be in any hurry to go anywhere.

The eucalyptus trees not only offer food for my species, but protection from predators way up in the branches.

Catching another nap

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We just like to hang out

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My family communicates with each other in a variety of vocalizations like screaming and snoring.

I am an endangered species and my future depends on the existence of a habitat in the wild. We koalas used to be hunted for our fur and then we were run over by cars and attacked by dogs. For a while, we were dying from disease.

The San Diego Zoo is one place where my family has found peace and the ability to multiply. Without conservation programs and the protection of my natural habitat, my family could not survive.

Thanks for hanging around with me and sharing our planet!