Australia Zoo's rare white koala gets a name (PICTURES)

Australia Zoo's rare white koala gets a name (PICTURES)
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

A few months ago a rare white koala was born at the Australia Zoo. Tourism Australia helped promote a naming campaign on Facebook for the little tyke.

Her name is Snow. She is not an albino but a white koala. Dr. Rosie Booth, the zoo’s wildlife director, said the rare white coloring is referred to as the ‘silvering gene.’ Had Snow been born in the wild, her white coloring would have made it difficult for her to survive.

Dr. Booth said that the recessive gene “where animals are born with white or very pale fur” is similar to baby teeth. Snow will eventually shed her white baby fur, and will have the same colored fur as other adult koalas.

When planning your trip to Queensland, Australia, be sure to include the Australia Zoo in your plans. I met Dr. Booth in 2016 when I went to meet Peta, a wild koala the zoo saved after she was hit by a car in New South Wales.

Australia Zoo: Snow, a rare white koala joey
Australia Zoo: Mama Tia with two joeys (Snow below)
Australia Zoo: Tia and Snow
Australia Zoo: Snow clinging to Mum
Australia Zoo: What a cutie
Australia Zoo: Snow hitching a ride on Tia

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot