Aww! Orphaned Koala Joey Bounced Back & Doing Fine At SD Zoo

SAN DIEGO, CA — Little "Omeo," an 8-month-old koala joey at the San Diego Zoo, was a little over 5 months old and in his mother's pouch when she died from cancer in December.

Not an easy start in life for the tiny marsupial, but with intervention and round-the-clock care by zoo wildlife care specialists, Omeo (pronounced Ooh-me-ooh) is alive and thriving, staff said.

“Omeo has come a long way since we first started taking care of him,” said Kim Weibel, San Diego Zoo's senior neonatal assisted care specialist.

“In the beginning, he was so compromised and so underdeveloped, we wondered if he would make it. However, he has grown stronger, his endurance has increased, and he has nice, thick fur. He is starting to sample eucalyptus, so we hope he will be eating it soon; and the next big step is meeting other koalas, and learning how to socialize and climb—doing all the great things koalas do.”

Omeo is nurtured by three wildlife care specialists, who tend daily to his every need, including bottle-feeding him a special milk formula five times a day—at 5:30 a.m., 10 a.m., 2:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m.

The little fella initially lived in a faux pouch inside an incubator, with temperature and humidity set to simulate conditions in his mother’s pouch. But now as he is growing, Omeo spends time in his exercise setting, where he explores and builds muscle tone by crawling out of the pouch and onto the back of his plush “stand-in mom.”

And his caretakers take him outdoors at least 10 to 20 minutes a day for time in the sun and to acclimate him to sights, sounds and smells of koalas around him.

“It is important we mimic as many natural situations for Omeo as he would receive with his mother,” Weibel said. “We touch him, hold him snug in his faux pouch, we encourage him to grasp onto his plush 'stand-in mom' and we provide him eucalyptus, so he can further develop his hand-eye coordination and learn to feed himself.”

When not eating, exercising or sunning himself, Omeo "does what koalas do best—he sleeps most of the day," in his faux pouch or perched in a custom-designed, mini eucalyptus tree, zoo officials said.

As Omeo continues to develop, his caregivers will encourage his instincts to eat eucalyptus, climb on branches and eventually live in his own habitat at the zoo’s Australian Outback.

Even though the San Diego Zoo is currently closed to guests due to restrictions related to COVID-19, wildlife care specialists are on duty.

"We still have to come in to feed and care for the animals, and it’s our pleasure to do so,” Weibel said “Working with animals is like seeing your family every day. The zoo is quiet, and it is different without guests, but we are here to do our jobs and I think the animals appreciate it.”

The San Diego Zoo, having housed and cared for koalas since 1925, boasts the largest colony of koalas — as well as the most successful breeding program — outside of Australia.

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