Koalas Indoors?

[Ituri]

Can you elaborate on this? Is this a San Diego Zoo requirement for loaning koalas to other zoos? I thought that most of the koalas outside of California were on loan from the San Diego Zoo colony. Does anyone know if this is the case? LA and San Francisco have independent groups from San Diego.

LA's public exhibit is completely outdoors. As snowleopard suggested I think that there are indoor night quarters, but these are off public exhibit.

San Diego has a few indoor exhibits, but most of the koalas are in outdoor yards.

San Francisco has outdoor yards and an indoor facility with one viewing area. There are times of the year when it is too cold for them outside, but much of the time they are outside.

Actually most of San Diego's koalas are kept off-exhibit in the indoor "koala barn" (located behind the indoor exhibits). Only a couple koalas are outdoors at any given time.

 

[DavidBrown]

Actually most of San Diego's koalas are kept off-exhibit in the indoor "koala barn" (located behind the indoor exhibits). Only a couple koalas are outdoors at any given time.

To clarify I should have said the koalas on exhibit...seems like there are usually 10 or so outside in the multiple koala yards and only a few in the three indoor exhibits. Thanks for the info about the koala barn...what does this facility look like...pretty much like the indoor exhibits (i.e., a room with a climbing structure and bunches of eucalyptus branches)?

 

[PAT]

One of the best places I've ever seen koalas (in captivity) would have to be The Koala Conservation Centre on Phillip Island. It's basically a huge piece of forest that's been fenced in and boardwalks have been put up around the place and koalas were introduced. There are also wallabies and echidnas so it's a bit of a mixed exhibit. It's a pretty commercial place because Phillip Island gets heaps of international tourists who go for the Penguin Parade and they'll go to this during the day and to see the penguins at night.

Here's a link to their website:-
http://www.penguins.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15&Itemid=41&mytabsmenu=3

 

[AnaheimZoo]

Their diet is very poor nutritionally, and it takes a long time to digest - as a result they have one of the largest caeca of any mammal (for their size), and can retain food for further digestion for up to 10 days in the hindgut. Most of the leaves are fibre, and the koala sleeps, not because it's lazy, but because there is little energy derived from the leaves. There's also some very nasty toxins that need to be broken down.

Oh, so they don't receive enough energy from their diet to be able to be active animals? I knew it took long to digest, I just didn't know the leaves they ate were low in nutrients. That's similar to pandas' diet problems, right? 96 or so percent of the diet is bamboo, which isn't very nutritious or fattening, therefore pandas can't build up enough fat reserves to hibernate during winter. I realize koalas don't need to hibernate, but I'm sure you get what I'm saying. It all makes sense (I think ). Thanks for the explanation, Hix.

 

[nanoboy]

Can koalas be weaned off eucalyptus leaves?

 

[MRJ]

Can koalas be weaned off eucalyptus leaves?

No not at all.

 

[CiaranDUK]

Edinburgh Zoo's two Queensland Koalas are kept completely indoors, mainly because of Scotland's largely horrible weather, I'd imagine... But aren't there rules that strictly state how a Koala enclosure has to be? I'm sure I've heard that about Europe, at least...

 

[cracker]

Edinburgh Zoo's two Queensland Koalas are kept completely indoors, mainly because of Scotland's largely horrible weather, I'd imagine... But aren't there rules that strictly state how a Koala enclosure has to be? I'm sure I've heard that about Europe, at least...

The koalas do get access outside as long as it's warm enough, which is not very often and they have to be taken outside by the keepers and a member of staff is present while they are out. The original 2 males were loaned from San Diego and they state the requirements for enclosures as well as everything else but I think now the european animals are managed by someone in europe and where possible the animals are moved around within europe.

The koala barn in San Diego has divided "pens" with sleeping posts as you would see in the indoor viewable enclosures, where the koalas can see and hear each other and where I think they are generally kept on their own if they're males and females kept together with young where possible. The pens are designed so they can be enlarged or separated depending on their needs at the time.