SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Zoo Miami is celebrating the newest member of their family, a baby koala.
The zoo announced the birth of a baby koala named Hope.
Zoo officials said the baby was actually born in May, but it wasn’t until Wednesday that the creature came out of it’s mother’s pouch for the first time.
Hope is the third koala born at the zoo and the first surviving koala to be born there in 28 years.
Officials are not sure of the sex of the baby, but they said they chose the name Hope due to the devastation caused by the wildfires in Australia.
“It is our desire that this baby koala will help to bring a small ray of hope to all that are suffering in Australia and be a symbol for a positive future for the priceless wildlife that lives there,” the zoo said in a statement.
Zoo Miami said they will be donating $10,000 to the Zoos Victoria Bushfire Emergency Wildlife Fund, which is working to save the animals from the fires in Australia.
Members of the public can also make donations to the Zoos Victoria Bushfire Emergency Wildlife Fund by clicking here.
You can also donate through the Zoo Miami Foundation and write “Australia” in the memo section. For more information, click here.
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