Nature

Adorable Baby Koala Jumps Between Branches As Vienna Zoo Celebrates Her 1st Birthday

This is the adorable moment a baby koala jumps between branches and spends time with her mum as their Vienna zoo is celebrating the young one’s first birthday.

The cute footage was shared by the Schoenbrunn Zoo based in the Austrian capital Vienna as they celebrate the young koala Millaa Millaa’s first birthday today (21 April).

She is the first koala to be born at the zoo and was roughly the size of a bean when her mum Bunji gave birth to her exactly one year ago.

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One video shows the loving mum and daughter spending time together while eating eucalyptus leaves and climbing around branches.

Bunji is seen carrying Millaa Millaa as she climbs around trees despite the large size of the one-year-old as the video ends.

Zoo Director Stephan Hering-Hagenbeck said: “She can do everything a little koala is supposed to do. She eats eucalyptus but is also breastfed. She’s very skilled at climbing.”

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A second video shows the energetic baby koala hopping from branch to branch apparently having some fun while eating some leaves.

Zookeepers said Millaa Milla is a very active koala and enjoys jumping between branches which is not normal for koalas.

The one-year-old and her mum have been spending a lot of time together in the past three months so Bunji can teach her daughter and help her develop her climbing skills.

Daniel Zupanc/Newsflash

Zoo staff said Millaa Milla is developing nicely and eats 25 different types of eucalyptus as the zoo makes sure to have fresh eucalyptus for her delivered from the UK every week.

District manager Simona Gabrisova said: “In contrast to her mother Bunji, Millaa Millaa has no preferences yet. She is very voracious and tries all kinds of [eucalyptus] species.”

When born koala cubs are usually naked, blind and deaf but they crawl independently from the birth canal into the pouch where they usually spend around seven months.

Daniel Zupanc/Newsflash

Gabrisova said: “In terms of height, Millaa Millaa is three-quarters of her mother’s size but she likes to be carried on her back. That’s quite exhausting for Bunji.”

The young koala was named after a heritage-listed waterfall Millaa Millaa Falls in the Australian state of Queensland which where this koala subspecies is native.

Austrian tennis star Dominic Thiem who is currently ranked as the world number four by the ATP recently became Millaa Millaa’s official sponsor.

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