Longleat use cuddly koala to help weigh baby joey

Keepers at Longleat safari park have devised a creative way of weighing a baby koala with the use of a soft toy.

The seven-month-old unnamed joey is the first ever southern koala to have been born in Europe.

She now survives solely on eucalyptus leaves and her weight is a key indicator of her health, keeper Jon Ovens said.

To make the weekly weighing sessions as stress-free as possible the cuddly koala has been added to her basket.

Mr Ovens said it also allowed them to give her an overall health check.

The female marsupial became the first southern koala to have been born in Europe when her mother Violet gave birth at the Wiltshire safari park last year.

Koalas give birth after around a month-long pregnancy.

Joeys are born blind, hairless and about the same size as a jellybean.

Within minutes the baby must find its way into its mother's pouch where it continues to grow and develop.

It will occasionally leave the pouch and explore but will remain largely dependent on its mother until it is up to a year old.

Violet's baby initially survived largely on milk but has been weaned off this and on to eucalyptus leaves in recent weeks.

A plantation of eucalyptus trees has been established on the Longleat estate to provide the koalas - which live in a purpose built enclosure called Koala Creek - with a regular supply of leaves, one of the only thing the marsupials will eat.

The facility is part of a joint initiative between the government of South Australia, Cleland Wildlife Park and Longleat to support research and raise funds for koala conservation.

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