Meet Monty – Tasmania’s only koala

The cute and cuddly koala has found a new home in Tasmania after spending the first two years of his life at a wildlife park in Victoria. SEE THE VIDEO >>>

SPEND some koala-ty time with Monty – the only koala in Tasmania.

The cute and cuddly koala has found a new home in Tasmania after spending the first two years of his life at a wildlife park in Victoria.

Monty has settled in to his newly renovated habitat at Zoodoo Zoo in Tea Tree, north of Hobart, where he has been enjoying his days napping and chewing on eucalyptus leaves.

Zoodoo general manager Nick Atchison said while koalas are not native to Tasmania, Monty has been thriving in his new home.

“He’s been here about a little over a week and he’s been settling in beautifully. He’s really loving the local eucalyptus we’ve got for him,” Mr Atchison said.

Zoodoo’s newest furry friend offers Tasmanians the chance to see a koala up-close without having to visit the mainland.

Koala Monty at ZooDoo. Picture: Chris Kidd

While Monty only just arrived at Zoodoo, he’s already proving popular with visitors.

“Anytime you get a new addition to the collection I think people are very interested to come and see it, and given he is the only koala we’ve got here in Tasmania, I’m hoping that will really draw people in and particularly our overseas guests,” Mr Atchison said.

“Zoodoo is a conservation organisation – we’re always looking to expand our conservation networks and build upon opportunities that we’ve got to relay conservation messages to our guests, and he’s a great ambassador for koalas and koala conservation in Australia.”

Monty may be the only koala in the state for now, but Zoodoo is hoping to find him a cuddly companion.

“He is Tasmania’s only koala at the moment, so that’s great for Zoodoo. But hopefully we’ll be getting him a friend soon and … we’ll get the little pitter-patter of koala feet,” Mr Atchison said.

ZooDoo General Manager of Zoo Operations Nick Atchison with Koala Monty. Picture: Chris Kidd

“There’s lots of reasons why we should be promoting the conservation of these animals and, of course, they’re part of an ecosystem. So when you’re conserving the habitat for koalas, you’re also conserving for a whole host of other animals as well.”

Federal Member for Lyons Brian Mitchell said bringing Monty to Tasmania was a fantastic opportunity to educate people about Australian wildlife.

“It’s great as an attraction but, of course, the more important thing is that we find a home for Monty as a koala. We know the northern koalas have now been listed as endangered and we know that species around Australia are threatened,” Mr Mitchell.

“So whatever we can do here in Tasmania to help our counterparts on the mainland protect our precious fauna is fantastic.”