The David Bowie of koalas rescued after road crash in Australia

Picked up by the Australia Zoo Rescue Unit after being injured in an apparent car crash north of Brisbane last month, a medical examination discovered that the female marsupial had fortunately avoided major injury.

Startlingly, they also found she also had two different coloured eyes resulting from an ultra-rare genetic condition called Heterochromia.

Staff at Australia Zoo immediately dubbed her Bowie in homage to the late rock legend whose unique eyes were part of his enigmatic looks.

Vet Dr. Sharon Griffiths said: ”Bowie's heterochromia doesn't affect how she sees the world around her, in fact her eyesight is great, exactly what we like to see in a young koala.

"Apart from being extremely lucky in avoiding injury on the road, she's also incredibly unique as heterochromia isn't a common occurrence in koalas; it's more often found in domestic mammal species such as dogs and cats."

David Bowie himself didn’t have heterochromia – his left eye was left with a permanently dilated pupil giving the impression of a different iris colour after he was punched by his friend George Underwood in 1962.

Currently under observation, Bowie the koala is on antibiotics for cystitis and pain relief for a slight limp. Australia Zoo are hoping to release her back into the wild.