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Pic: RussellMillard/Longleat/BNPS
Viscount Weymouth, Ceawlin Thynn with wife Emma with Chris Daniels from IKCE at Cleland Wildlife Park near Adelaide.
A British country estate is set to give hope to one of Australia’s most iconic and increasingly threatened species.
The Longleat Estate, in Wiltshire, have revealed that they will soon be the first park in Europe to take delivery of six southern koalas from Cleland Wildlife Park in Adelaide, as part of an international breeding programme.
The Australian government have recently listed the cuddly marsupial as 'vulnerable to extinction' as dog attacks and bush fires take a toll on the slow moving bear.
After spending time in quarantine, the koalas, along with a pair of wombats which are the koalas’ closest relative, will be transferred into a purpose-built area of the estate called Koala Creek.
Creating the specialist area has been a long and thorough task for staff, who have even developed a 4,000-tree eucalyptus plantation to keep the bears well-fed.