Keepers at Taronga Western Plains Zoo spotted a second Koala joey emerging from its mother’s pouch this month.

Milawa, meaning Murray River in Wiradjuri language, is a female joey and is approximately six months old. She is the first joey for mother, Lemon who is showing all the right maternal behaviours, being a caring and nurturing mother.

Keepers are really happy with progress the mother and joey are displaying, with Milawa starting to sample leaves. She is usually quite visible clinging to the front of Lemon.

Koala joeys generally stay with their mother until approximately 12 months of age, when they start to become more independent, exploring their environment on their own and in the wild, finding their own home range.

The Aussie Walkthrough exhibit has two Red-necked Wallaby joeys also visible that are approximately seven months old, plus another Koala joey soon to emerge as well. A great time to see the new arrivals in this area is at the daily keeper talk at 2:30pm.