Illinois Zoo Welcomes Koalas For 1st Time In 90-Year History

Did you know a famed and historic Illinois zoo is finally getting koalas?

I guess that, for all the times that I have been to the Brookfield Zoo, which is numerous, I never considered that they have zero koalas.

Well, that all changes today because, for the 1st Time in its 90-year History, the Brookfield Zoo has some koalas.

According to NBC 5 in Chicago, the koalas are at Brookfield Zoo "thanks to a partnership with the San Diego Wildflie Alliance and San Diego's Zoo's Koala Education and Conservation Project.

This addition makes the Brookfield Zook one of only 11 "accredited zoological facilities where the public can see and engage with koalas."

The koalas at the Brookfield Zoo are named Brumby and William, both two years old.

Looking for reasons to see koalas in person, I saw Nat Geo Kids post a bunch of facts about those unique marsupials that got me certainly interested, like:

When an infant koala—called a joey—is born, it immediately climbs up to its mother's pouch. Blind and earless, a joey uses its strong sense of touch and smell, as well as natural instinct, to find its way.

While koalas use their instincts to survive, the Brookfield Zoo continues to use its talents to make this one of the popular destinations for families in Illinois.

USA Today's readers poll ranked Brookfield Zoo among the Top five Zoos in the US, too, so it also has that going for it.

Purchase tickets at BrookfieldZoo.org to visit the koalas and see everything else Brookfield Zoo offers this summer.