Farewells and new beginnings for our koalas

Animal news | 21 April 2026

At the end of April, we will say goodbye to our young female koala Kiri: On 27 April, she will be moving to Duisburg Zoo, where she will start a new chapter. Kiri was born here on 18 November 2024, and she is the second koala cub to be born at Dresden Zoo. She is now almost one and a half years old, independent and ready to strike out on her own. Until now, Kiri has been living in our enclosure with her sister, Janali, and her mother, Eerin.

Kiri will be accompanied by zookeeper Olaf Lohnitz, who has known her since she was a cub. Ever since she first peered out of her pouch in May 2025, he has followed her development closely. Olaf will also help her settle into life in Duisburg, where Kiri will live with several female koalas.

But the trip to the Ruhr region isn’t just about saying goodbye – it’s also a new beginning for the koala Kamaroo. On his way back to Dresden, Olaf Lohnitz will bring the male koala with him. Kamaroo is almost four years old. He was born at Duisburg Zoo and will be living with us from now on. He’s going to meet our two females, Eerin and Janali.

As male koalas are naturally solitary animals, Kamaroo will move into a neighbouring enclosure. In this way, he will remain physically separated from the females, but he will still be able to make contact with them – they can see, hear and smell each other. Koalas come into direct contact with one another only during the mating season.

After our koala Mullaya had to be put down in early January due to a tumour on his jaw, we are delighted that we will have a male koala at Dresden Zoo again when Kamaroo arrives.

Kamaroo is expected to be on display to our visitors from the long weekend at the start of May.