Ouwehands Zoo welcomes first koala ever born in the Netherlands

The Ouwehands Zoo in Rhenen has announced the birth of a koala, a first for the Netherlands. While the joey is still quite young and hidden in its mother’s pouch, it is expected to peek out and be seen by zoo visitors by the end of the year.

Dutch zoo welcomes first baby koala

Not only is the Ouwehands Zoo the only zoo in the Netherlands to house koalas, but now it is the only one in history where a koala birth has occurred. Zookeepers first suspected the only female koala at the zoo was pregnant after her cycle didn’t return.

This was finally confirmed when zookeepers noticed movements in the mother’s pouch. Koalas give birth after a pregnancy of just 35 days, after which the blind and hairless joey climbs into the pouch and clings to a nipple where it continues to develop and grow.

Currently, the joey is just over two months old, so is still spending the majority of its time inside the warm and safe environment of the pouch. As it grows, it will start to peek out more often and should be on display at the zoo by the end of 2025. 

In April last year, the Dutch zoo welcomed three koalas, two males and one female, to its newly-built enclosure called Koalia. The animals were introduced to each other after they acclimated to their new environment and after several matings, the movements of the first joey point to signs of success.

"The birth of this young koala is a wonderful milestone for our team and an important step for the conservation of this special species," Head of Animal Care at Ouwehands Zoo Marijn Poldermans said in the zoo’s announcement. Koalas are an endangered species and are kept at zoos across the world to help conserve the animals through management programmes.