The 8 koalas are being provided by Cleland Wildlife Park in South Australia, located in the south-central part of the country, and consist of 2 males and 6 females. The first batch of 1 male and 3 females will arrive in August, while the arrival date for the second batch has not yet been determined.
Howard Chuk, Senior Curator of Terrestrial Life at Ocean Park, pointed out that starting next month, two experienced Hong Kong animal trainers will be sent to Cleland for training and to bond with the koalas. They will accompany the koalas to Hong Kong in August along with Annette, a senior koala keeper from the local park. The South Australian government has issued the relevant koala export permits. The koalas will undergo quarantine in both locations before departure and after arrival, and veterinarians from both sides will accompany them during the journey.
Many people perceive koalas as sluggish and slow-moving. Howard Chuk explained that koalas are low-energy animals that need to sleep for 18 to 19 hours a day and spend 3 hours eating, with very little time spent "awake." They are generally more active at night, with only half an hour to one hour of activity during the day. Koalas are naturally independent and sensitive. Furthermore, male koalas have a strong sense of "territoriality," so a single enclosure can house at most one male and three to five females; two males must never be kept together, or they will easily fight.
The breeding season for koalas is during the Australian summer, from September to February of the following year. Annette stated that koalas reach sexual maturity at about 3 years of age; based on this, the koalas arriving in Hong Kong are expected to begin breeding as early as the year after next.
Regarding their diet, koalas are "picky eaters" that only consume eucalyptus leaves, obtaining both nutrients and water from them. Out of more than 600 known species of eucalyptus, koalas only eat about 40. Ocean Park has already planted 8,000 eucalyptus trees of 5 different species in Guangzhou. To prevent the koalas from suffering from acclimatization issues, Howard Chuk noted that they will initially be fed leaves freshly air-freighted from South Australia every week, before gradually transitioning to the locally grown leaves. In addition, Cleland will continue to send 2 to 4 laughing kookaburras and wallabies to Hong Kong over the coming year, and they will become friends with the koalas and live together.
Koala Exhibit Planned for December Opening, Mimicking South Australian Climate
Ocean Park aims to open the koala exhibit to the public in December. The facility will mimic the seasonal distribution and climate of South Australia and feature a transparent roof to allow the koalas to "bask in the sun." Howard Chuk emphasized that everything is based on the health of the koalas; if they have not adapted by then, they will not be forced to meet the public, and crowd control measures will be implemented during the initial opening period. Additionally, starting on the 30th of this month, Cathay Pacific will change its connecting flight from Adelaide, South Australia, to Hong Kong into a direct flight. This is the first time a direct flight has been available on this route, reducing the travel time from 12 hours (via Melbourne) to 9 hours and increasing seat capacity by 14%. The koalas will also travel to Hong Kong on this direct flight in August.
