Eucalyptus delights, endless naps, fury cuddles—Moonlit Sanctuary’s first-ever born koala joey has finally climbed out of the pouch. Energised with nourishing pap, Banjo is ready to ride on its mum’s back and see the world.
Following months of suspense since February, the little male marsupial finally arrived at the Pearcedale Conservation Park.
In the early days, Banjo spent a long time in the mum’s pouch and fully attached to her teat.
As it grew bigger, bits and pieces of its body appeared from time to time. Occasionally it would stick a leg out of the pouch, then an arm or its head a few days later. Some days, it pulled most of its body out to take a quick look around, before quickly hopping back in.
Banjo is now seven months old and is mostly hanging out on its mum’s back. Visitors are welcome to see it at the latest exhibit – a 10,000 sq. ft koala experience. Beautifully built with care, it includes five habitats for the koalas, specially set up to encourage their breeding.
Visitors will also find an encounter area where they can get real close and even cuddle up to a koala.
After years of friendship, Tehree Gordon, the co-founder of Jirrahlinga Koala and Wildlife Sanctuary, happily assisted in loaning a breeding male koala to Michael Johnson, the director of Moonlit Sanctuary.
Mr Johnson said successfully breeding a koala in captivity was a grand premiere for Moonlit.
“This level of cooperation between wildlife parks is extremely important to maintain a viable population of koalas,” he said.
Considered a national treasure, koalas are now sadly a threatened species in NSW and QLD because of a dramatic reduction of their natural habitat, dog attacks, climate change and disease.
Described as one of the top destinations on the Mornington Peninsula, Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park is renowned for excelling in conservation and breeding programs, and for its passion for Australian wildlife.
