Patrick Anderson

panderson@argusleader.com

Two furry visitors at the Great Plains Zoo will give Sioux Falls residents a taste of the Australian outback.

Koalas will take up a temporary space in a new exhibit, zoo officials announced Thursday, coming here as part of a "koala loan" program from the San Diego Zoo.

"This is a huge opportunity for a zoo our size to host koalas," said Elizabeth Whealy, Great Plains president and CEO.

Moki and Burra will be the first koalas ever to visit South Dakota when they arrive in Sioux Falls on May 13, said Chris Andrus, an animal care manager for San Diego Zoo Global. There are about 50 koalas in North America, including 25 at the San Diego Zoo.

Just 10 zoos in the United States offer visitors a chance to glimpse the Australian mammals in-person. Koalas are native to forests of eastern Australia and feed on the region's eucalyptus trees. The broad-faced critters munch so much eucalyptus they sometimes smell like cough drops.

Despite being a popular term, "koala bear" is a misnomer. Koalas are marsupials, belonging to the same family of animals as possums and kangaroos.

The new arrivals coming to Great Plains next month are both young males. Moki is 2 and Burra is 3. Most koalas live between 10 and 15 years.

They will occupy an exhibit near the zoo's entry until Labor Day, near the end of the zoo's peak season.

"I think you're really going to enjoy your two visitors," Andrus said.

Great Plains is home to more than 1,000 animals, and many of the attractions are available because collaboration and partnerships with zoos such as San Diego, Whealy said. The two zoos have worked together in the past on marketing campaigns and breeding.

"We're doing a lot of work with San Diego," Whealy say.





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