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The Zurich Zoo has determined the sex of the first young animal in the new Australian enclosure. Pippa’s baby name is safe too.
Pippa holds Uki tightly in her arms: the first baby koala at the Zurich Zoo was born eight months ago.
Image: Zurich Zoo, Angelina Perin de Iaco
Eight months ago, the first calf saw the light of day in the koala enclosure of the Zurich Zoo. Now the sex of the young animal could be determined: it is a male. And the little one got a name this time. Uki is the name of the female koala’s child, Pippa.
The zoo determined the name as part of an online vote, as it announced Wednesday. Around 9,500 people participated in the survey. Uki is a town in New South Wales in the koala range in Australia, it is said. By the way, all the animals born at the Zurich Zoo this year have a name that begins with the letter U.
Fear of koala retrovirus
Uki is Pippa’s first child, the first baby koala born in Switzerland. According to the zoo, koalas are born at a very early stage of development and grow in their mother’s pouch for about six months.
There are currently two female koalas living in the Australian zoo enclosure. Pippa arrived in Zurich in February 2018 together with Maisy from the Australian Reptile Park. The so-called retrovirus, which is carried by almost all koalas, is causing problems for those responsible for the zoo when it comes to raising these animals. There is currently no way to cure animals. The routes of infection are also diverse and have yet to be investigated. The two male koala Mikey and Milowho arrived at the Zurich Zoo in early 2018, died as a result of a retrovirus attack.
