Baby Koala Born at Zoo Miami Named ‘Hope' to Honor Australia Wildfire Victims

The baby was born last year, but now it finally emerged from its pouch

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A koala that was born at Zoo Miami last year has finally emerged from its pouch, being named "Hope" by staff in honor of all the animals that have perished in the catastrophic wildfires in Australia.

The koala's birth took place on May 30th last year, Zoo Miami said in a tweet. It was the first time in nearly three decades a koala has successfully given birth at the zoo.

The baby is reported to be doing fine, and bonding with its mother has been going well.

Half a billion animals are estimated to have died already as a result of recent wildfires in Australia.

Some species, such as kangaroos, wallabies, and emus can run away from the flames. Koala’s are not blessed with speed.

“Koala’s feed on eucalyptus, and the irony is, eucalyptus is an incredibly flammable tree so when fires take over these eucalyptus groves they burn very, very quickly, and koala’s are not fast animals, they cannot outrun the fire,” Zoo Miami’s conservation expert Ron Magill told NBC 6.

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