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A screenshot from the zoo’s video of the koala mother<\/p>\n July 31, 2025 A screenshot from the zoo’s video of the koala mother<\/p>\n
Ouwehands Dierenpark in Rhenen has welcomed<\/a> the first koala to be born at a Dutch zoo.<\/p>\n The only zoo in the Netherlands to have a koala breeding programme, Ouwehands said the koala was probably born some two months ago.<\/p>\n Zoo workers suspected that the birth had taken place but it wasn\u2019t until a telltale bulge in the mother koala\u2019s pouch that they could be sure.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The koala male and female arrived at the zoo in April last year and since then several attempts were made to encourage them mate.<\/p>\n Baby koalas are born blind and naked and scramble up into the mother\u2019s pouch immediately after the birth and stay there for some six months. After that they hitch a ride on their mother\u2019s back until, at around one year old, they will venture out on their own.<\/p>\n Koalas are an endangered species, threatened in their native Australia by bushfires and floods.<\/p>\n Animal welfare<\/a> Society<\/a> Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.<\/p>\n We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.<\/p>\n