Angel just put her two thumbs in the way a little, but you can clearly see the sphincter at the pouch opening. Yep she has a joey nursing in there. HOORAY - the next generation of hope!
This posture she is in is classic for a mum with joey in pouch.
She is not pregnant, koalas are pregnant for 35 days, then give birth to a tiny pinky about the size of jelly bean. It crawls into the pouch and fuzes onto a teat to drink milk and develop for another 6 months.
This joey is creating a bulge now so has probably been in the pouch for a month or so - maybe she came here to give birth even as she arrived on the property in the second half of December.
So exciting amidst the horror of the past 4 - 5 months!
I feel this way sometimes when I see seeds on seed heads during the winter months...hope for the future...but it's even more exciting when it is a baby koala, than when it is a potential peony plant.
A fabulous shot of the happy Mum with her little bundle of hope and joy. Maybe you should name it Hope. Such wonderful news knowing that there will be more Koalas around in the future.
The joy of this new birth reminds me of the first line from L P Hartley's book, 'The Go Between', 'The past is a different country: they do things differently there.' What a past you and your koalas have and are living.
Your photo indeeds bring hope for the future. My heart aches (literally) because of the images I've seen of injured koalas and news of the tragic numbers that have died. May the little joey here thrive safely.
