Little Charlie the Koala joey is the first Koala joey to emerge at Taronga Zoo this year. He is approximately six months old and is becoming more adventurous as he is spending larger amounts of time outside of his mum’s pouch.His mother “Grace” is doing great as this is her first joey and she has taken to motherhood very well. Charlie’s father, “Darwin”, was hand-raised by Koala Keeper, Nick, and the youngster is Darwin’s first offspring, which is very important  for the breeding group at Taronga.  Charlie will begin to taste eucalyptus leaves in the coming few weeks, but before he starts to eat leaves entirely, he will need to eat a special bacteria contained in leaves his mother has already eaten that helps to create the gut flora needed to digest the normally highly toxic eucalypt leaf tips. By 12 months he will be eating only leaves and will start to sleep for longer periods to conserve his energy.  Visitors may glimpse Charlie with Grace if they book a Koala Encounter Experience at Taronga Zoo