Longleat koalas have visit from Aboriginal leader

Wiltshire's colony of koalas have had a special visit from an Aboriginal leader - to mark Save the Koala Day.

Parry Agius has been to Longleat to see the marsupials for the first time since they first arrived at the safari park in 2018.

Parry is an ambassador for charity Koala Life, of which Lord Bath, Longleat’s owner, is patron.

James Dennis, Koala Keeper, said:

“It was a fantastic opportunity to host Parry and enable him to show his wife Jill Koala Creek for the first time. As a representative of South Australia and the first nation Parry is an inspiration and we all learned so much from him during his visit.”

Save the Koala Day is a worldwide initiative to raise awareness of the importance of conserving the species’ natural habitat.

James said: “Koalas are now considered endangered by the Australian government which is why our participation in the breeding programme is so important. We now have six Koalas and our colony are breaking records.

“Violet was the first southern koala to breed in Europe; her daughter Hazel was the first to be born in Europe and Monty – Hazel’s half-brother – was the first male to be born in Europe.

“At Longleat we have lots of information about the species and the expert keepers are always willing to share so people can learn more about them and love them as much as we do.”