UK koala birth a first for Europe

A southern koala has been born in Europe for the first time after an ambitious conservation program between South Australia and a wildlife park in the United Kingdom.

In 2018 Adelaide's Cleland Wildlife Park sent koalas Dennis, Maizie, Coorong and Violet to Wiltshire's Longleat Safari and Wildlife Park in a bid to raise the profile of the animals throughout Europe.

Longleat on Wednesday revealed Violet had given birth with the yet to be named joey venturing out of its mother's pouch.

The birth is a major milestone for the conservation program coordinated by not-for-profit group Koala Life in partnership with Cleland and the South Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service.

Koala Life Chairman Chris Daniels said the joey's arrival would help Longleat and Koala Life better develop and understand captive breeding methodology and animal husbandry.

"Longleat now has a small but vital group of healthy animals free of debilitating diseases including chlamydia and retrovirus," Professor Daniels said.

"The continued growth of the colony will help us understand how to keep sanctuary populations healthy and provide important information about the effects of these diseases."

Longleat Chairman Ceawlin Thynn said the birth of the first baby southern koala was something his team had been working towards and hoping for since it launched the new facility three years ago.

"We are delighted with how well both mother and baby are doing," he said.

"As well as being a first for us, this is also Violet's first experience of motherhood, and she is proving to be a caring and attentive parent.

"We are still not fully sure on the sex of the joey but hope to get a better idea when it starts to spend more time outside of the pouch."

South Australian Environment Minister David Speirs said the birth would place a spotlight on southern koalas in the northern hemisphere.

"A combined team effort helped to safely transfer these koalas from the Mount Lofty Ranges to the United Kingdom and this is a perfect example of how like-minded organisations and agencies can achieve great conservation outcomes," he said.