Facts about Koala Joey Development
- 05
Born the size of a jellybean, a koala joey is hairless, blind, and relies entirely on instinct to crawl unaided from the birth canal to the pouch.
- 04
Koala joey development includes a back-riding phase, during which the young koala clings to its mother's back and belly after leaving the pouch.
- 03
The eyes and ears of a koala joey remain sealed shut for several months after birth, opening only as the joey nears the end of its pouch development.
- 02
During pouch life, a koala joey feeds exclusively on its mother's milk, later transitioning to a specialized liquid called pap, which is a form of soft maternal feces that seeds the joey's gut with microbes needed to digest eucalyptus leaves.
- 01
A newborn koala joey is born after a gestation of about 35 days and crawls into its mother's pouch, where it continues developing for around six months.