Rare baby white koala looks for a name on Facebook
This adorable rare white koala needs your help to find her new name.
The little joey is among several koalas born at an Australian zoo in recent months, but has only recently emerged from her mother's pouch.
She is the first white koala ever to be born in Queensland's Australia Zoo.
The female koala, who has light fur, does not have albinism but owes her pale colouration to a recessive gene, thought to be inherited from her mother.
However, her white fur might not last forever.
"In veterinary science it's often referred to as the 'silvering gene', where animals are born with white or very pale fur and, just like baby teeth, they eventually shed their baby fur and the regular adult colouration comes through," said Dr Rosie Booth, Director of the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital.
Dr Booth also added that it would be difficult for a joey of this colour to survive in the wild.
"In the wild animal kingdom, it's actually quite unfortunate to have unusually light colouration as it makes animals stand out from their camouflage."
Thankfully, the only thing this little joey needs now is a name.
The Australia Zoo and Tourism Australia have asked the public for help with a name, and of course, the internet never fails to deliver.
Over 3,000 comments and suggestions have already been made for her name.
Topics Animals
Yvette is a Viral Content Reporter at Mashable Asia. She was previously reporting for BBC's Singapore bureau and Channel NewsAsia.
