Koala joey, Gracie and echidna puggle, Milly at home with Taronga Zoo staff

Having a pet koala or echidna is the thing of dreams for most wildlife enthusiasts, but for some Taronga Zoo staff it’s a reality.

Having a pet koala or echidna is the thing of dreams for most wildlife enthusiasts, but for some Taronga Zoo staff it’s a reality.

Koala joey, Gracie and echidna puggle, Milly are two animals whose upbringing will be a little different to their other zoo mates, being hand-reared by some of the zoo staff.

Vet nurse and keeper Annii Downing has welcomed little Gracie into her home as a new member of her family.

Dr Downing said it’s hard to find the words to explain the opportunity of hand-rearing Gracie, but described it as an “incredible privilege, challenging but so rewarding”.

Koala joey, Gracie also known as Gizmo, meets echidna puggle, Milly, at Taronga Zoo. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

Although working as a full time vet at the North Sydney Zoo, her work has now become a 24/7 shift after taking responsibility of Gracie in October of last year.

As Gracie is getting older and developing some of her koala habits, Dr Downing is having to restructure her life to fit with Gracie’s needs.

“Since I accepted looking after this joey my life has been dedicated to her so everything else revolves around her,” she said.

Vet nurse and keeper Annii Downing with koala joey Gracie also known as Gizmo, who she is hand rearing, at Taronga Zoo. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

“I have had to architecturally revamp my house to suit her and her progression to climbing.”

Milly is having a similar experience to little Gracie but trainee keeper Deb Collins has a different task ahead when it comes to raising an echidna puggle.

“It’s quite different for a puggle as you don’t have to feed them every day, they are quite hands off so it is quite easy from that perspective,” she said.

This is not Ms Collins first experience hand-raising an animal but she is experiencing new lessons.

“An echidna puggle can overheat very easily so you have to keep the temperature low compared to a lot of other animals,” she said.

“I have been keeping her in my bathroom because it’s the coolest place in the house.”