Overview
- Park staff said the female, named Lumia, died suddenly late last week after a brief decline that the zoo disclosed this week.
- Keepers noticed unusual behavior about a week earlier, her condition worsened shortly before she died, and a veterinarian attended without success.
- The 11-month-old joey, a male, is eating eucalyptus and moving on his own, and keepers are watching his behavior closely.
- The cause of death is unconfirmed, and the director said a koala retrovirus is a possible factor that can weaken immunity and raise cancer risk.
- The zoo now has three koalas, all male, which limits breeding until it coordinates with other parks, and a death at five is young since wild koalas often live 13 to 18 years.