Animal Diaries Archive

Leno - This Is Your Life!

20 May 2005

Little Leno is growing up! Those of you who have been following Leno's development will know that Oprah gave birth to him in May 2004! He lived in an enclosure reserved exclusively for mother koalas and their new born joeys! Other joeys included Tucker, Nelly and Alexia. However, due to Alexia's mother not producing enough milk, Oprah was called upon to become Alexia's surrogate mum. Alexia is two months younger than Leno who, being 10 months old at the time was almost due to be weaned. Leno was therefore moved to another enclosure where he found he was the only male! He had a lovely time climbing all over the girls and he has been having a bottle feed from up to three times a day. A big thanks must go to all the staff at the Dingo Diner who provided hot water everyday to heat Leno's bottle, he is very appreciative! However, at a whopping 3.15kg (6.9 pounds) it is time for Leno to grow up! Soon he will be weaned and feeding solely on eucalyptus leaf. This week he took a big step and moved into another enclosure with Boris (four years) and Tucker (15 months.) This is usually a bit of a rocky process for young males, just like the initiation of teenagers into high school. There is a distinct hierarchy of the tough older kids and the younger boys have to learn their place. In addition male koalas can be very territorial and thus introducing new individuals can cause quite a stir. Luckily for Leno, he couldn't have asked for a better housemate. Boris is our largest koala, weighing in at over 9kg (19.8 pounds), and is a bit of a gentle giant. Leno experienced his first night unscathed and managed to stay out of trouble, and has been flourishing ever since!