There are five Queensland koalas here at Edinburgh Zoo - Goonaroo, Alinga, Tanami, Kalari and Inala. They are the only Queensland koalas in the UK.

Inala, whose name is an Aboriginal word meaning ‘rest time’ or ‘place of peace’, was born in July 2019 and began to peek out of mum Alinga’s pouch in January 2020. Kalari, whose name means ’daughter’ was born one year earlier. Both youngsters share the same mum, but Goonaroo is father to Kalari while Tanami is father to Inala.

You can help feed and care for our koalas and other threatened animals around the world by donating today - if you can, please support our Survival Fund.

Fun facts!

• Although they are bear-like in appearance koalas are actually marsupials, which means they have a different reproductive system to most mammals
• There is only one species of koala but there are distinct differences depending on which area of Australia they are found – the further south you go, the larger and hairier the koalas become!
• Eucalyptus is toxic to most animals but koalas have a specialised digestive system which breaks down the eucalyptus to eliminate the toxic material and allows the rest to be digested safely
• Koalas normally sleep between 18 and 22 hours a day! They carry no body fat and their diet is lacking nutrition, so they conserve every bit of energy for essential movement and body functions

How we're helping

Koala numbers are in decline throughout the Eastern coast of Australia where they naturally occur. The eucalyptus forests that the koalas depend upon for survival are disappearing to make way for roads and housing as more areas are being inhabited by humans.

Eucalyptus burns easily, so when wildfires break out whole forests are wiped out very quickly. This has devastating effects on the koalas’ food supply and many are trapped in the burning trees.

As well as being part of the international breeding programme for Queensland koalas, we support conservation projects that help koalas in the wild. We regularly contribute to the San Diego Zoo Koala Conservation & Education Program and sent additional funds to help our friends in Australia during the devastating wildfires in January 2020. 

Find out more about some of our conservation projects.