Dharuk and Telowie come from the San Diego Zoo and join the Louisville Zoo family indefinitely as part of an agreement with the Australian government. Dharuk, a 2-year-old, is named after an extinct Aboriginal language of the blue mountains, pronounced “da’ rook.” Meanwhile, 4-year-old Telowie (“tell ou-ee”), is named for the saltbush plant in Australia and means “old man saltbush by the waterhole.”
The two have taken up residence at the foot of Glacier Run alongside fellow Australian species. Their abode is a renovated habitat near Lorikeet Landing that previously housed snowy owls, and later, the Zoo’s red panda. They will be on exhibit starting June 11th at 11am!
Zoo guests will likely see the two new residents sleeping most days. Koalas almost exclusively eat eucalyptus leaves. This plant provides low-quality nutrition that takes time for koalas to process for energy. The eucalyptus that Dharuk and Telowie consume will be from one of just two eucalyptus farms in the U.S., both dedicated to supplying zoos.
The word “koala” is believed to originate from the Dharug language, spoken by Aboriginal people in Australia. “Koala” means “no drink,” which may be a reference to the marsupial’s low water intake. These animals stay hydrated through the water content in the eucalyptus leaves that form the bulk of their diet. The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened species lists koalas as decreasing in the vanishing wild. The two main threats for koalas are human development and subsequent habitat destruction.
