Koala baby at Antwerp Zoo comes as a surprise

They’re calling it a miracle baby, but in fact the new arrival at Antwerp Zoo owes its existence more to a fascinating quirk of nature than to any divine intervention.

There is a tiny baby hiding in koala Guwara’s pouch. When koalas give birth, the babies move from the birth canal into the pouch where they grow for several months before emerging into the world.

The zookeepers were quite surprised by the appearance of the baby in the pouch as the gestation period is only 34 days, and Guwara’s mate, Goonawarra, died three months ago.

The answer to the mystery lies in evolution. Nature has equipped the koala with the handy ability to hold onto a fertilised ovum and only implant it if the time is right. That’s useful if, for example, there’s some kind of risk or danger, like lack of food. So while fertilisation took place more than three months ago, Guwara’s body decided, for whatever reason, to hold on to the ovum for a while.

The koala pair had already produced nine babies during their time in Planckendael animal park in Mechelen before moving to the zoo last year. Later this year, Guwara will meet a new mate when Yooranah arrives from Edinburgh Zoo. But they’ll be living in separate accommodation: Koalas only come together during mating season.

Photo: Guwara, who will carry the baby in her pouch for several months. ©Jonas Verhulst/Antwerp Zoo