Two adorably furry creatures are now settled into their new home at the Louisville Zoo.
Dharuk and Telowie, two male koalas, have joined the Louisville Zoo family indefinitely as part of an agreement with the Australian government.
Meet The Koalas
Dharuk, a 2-year-old, is named after an extinct Aboriginal language of the blue mountains, pronounced “da’ rook”.
Meanwhile, 4-year-old Telowie (“tell ou-ee”), is named for the saltbush plant in Australia and means “old man saltbush by the waterhole.”
Their new home is a renovated habitat near Lorikeet Landing that previously housed snowy owls and later, the Zoo’s red panda.
Louisville Zoo Director, Dan Maloney, previously served at the Melbourne Zoo in Australia and is excited to bring koalas back to Louisville.
Koalas were temporarily featured at the Zoo during the 1980s and again in the early 2000s.
“Koalas are fantastic ambassadors for Australia, representing a truly unique species,” said Maloney. “I am excited to see families experience our friends from the ‘Land Down Under’!”
The two koalas came to Louisville from the San Diego Zoo in California.
While on exhibit, they will be housed separately, as koalas are territorial and solitary in the wild.
Zoo guests visiting during the early mornings or late afternoons have the best chance to see Dharuk or Telowie awake — but keep in mind koalas sleep up to 20 hours a day.
About Koalas
Koalas almost exclusively eat eucalyptus leaves, which provides low-quality nutrition that takes time for koalas to process for energy.
The eucalyptus that Dharuk and Telowie consume will come from one of just two eucalyptus farms in the U.S., both dedicated to supplying zoos.
The word “koala” is believed to originate from the Dharug language, spoken by Aboriginal people in Australia.
“Koala” means “no drink,” which may be a reference to the marsupial’s low water intake.
These animals stay hydrated through the water content in the eucalyptus leaves that form the bulk of their diet.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened species lists koalas as decreasing in the vanishing wild.
The two main threats for koalas are human development and subsequent habitat destruction.
To learn more about Dharuk and Telowie, visit louisvillezoo.org/koala.
