Koalas: Born to climb
You can smell the Zoo’s koala exhibit before you get there—the sweet scent of eucalyptus refreshes the senses! Koalas eat eucalyptus leaves, which might seem kind of boring to us, but there are more than 600 different kinds of eucalyptus trees and, from a koala’s point of view, each looks and tastes very different! Our koalas are offered fresh branches from several species of eucalyptus trees each day. These picky eaters can then select their favorite varieties.
We have the largest colony of koalas outside of Australia, and most of them can be seen by visitors each day. The koala exhibit has 6 separate outdoor enclosures. Each has perches filled with those tasty eucalyptus branches, photos and descriptions of the individual koalas hanging out there for the day. Some of these outdoor enclosures are also home to parma wallabies—look on the ground to see them. There are also three indoor enclosures that can also be viewed by visitors: lovely murals of Australian landscapes decorate the back walls.
Our Koala Education and Conservation Program reaches a global public through exhibition, education, and research and generates significant funds to support field conservation and research, including contraception investigations, vegetation mapping, planned community development, and studies designed to better describe koala behavior and ecology.
