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UK's first ever koala joey
Yooranah on the weighing scales with a toy koala
Yooranah clinging to mum Alinga

He was born the size of a jelly bean and is weighed on "baking scales"

The UK’s first ever koala joey is a boy, keepers at Edinburgh Zoo have announced.

Although he was born in May, keepers have now checked his sex and have named him Yooranah, an indigenous Australian word meaning “loving”.

He was the size of a jelly bean when he was born, and was hairless and blind.

Yooranah currently weighs a petite 632 grams has to be weighed on a digital scale similar to ones used to measure baking ingredients.

Regular weigh-ins are being carried out now that Yooranah is spending most of his time out of the pouch and clinging to mum Alinga’s belly. 

During his weigh in, Yooranah is placed onto a plush toy koala from the Zoo’s gift shop, to give him something to cling on to for stability as well as comfort.

He is putting on around 10 to 11 grams per day and will eventually grow to weigh around 6.5 kilograms (or 14 pounds). Yooranah will move onto the adult’s scale when he is much larger.  

Donald Gow, senior keeper for koalas, primates and hoofstock at Edinburgh Zoo, said: “It’s very exciting to watch Yooranah as he grows.

"This is the first time that a koala joey has been born in the UK so it is amazing to see him develop from being pink and hairless into a fully-formed, if tiny, koala.

"At the moment he seems to be all ears. He has also starting to develop his own personality, he can be quite feisty like his mother Alinga and father Goonaroo.”

Images by Edinburgh Zoo

 

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Applications open for MMI research grants

News Story 1
 RCVS' Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) has launched round two of its veterinary mental health research grants.

Researchers have until 11.59pm on Wednesday, 28 May 2025 to apply for a grant for research which reflects MMI's 2025 focus areas.

Only one Impact Grant was awarded last year, and so this year there are two Discovery Grants and one Impact Grants available. Each Discovery Grant is worth £5,000 and the Impact Grant is worth £15,000.

For more information or to apply, email researchgrants@rcvs.org.uk to contact the MMI team.

 

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News Shorts
BBC Radio 4 documentary addresses corporate fees

BBC Radio 4's File on 4 Investigates has released a documentary exploring how corporate-owned veterinary practices may be inflating bills to increase profit.

Released on 15 April, 'What's Happening To Your Vet Bills?' revealed the policies which many corporate groups have in place to increase their profits. This included targets and upgrades which veterinary teams are tasked with meeting on a regular basis.

It also features Anrich Vets, an independently-owned practice based in Wigan. Following the case of Staffordshire terrier Benjy, who is diagnosed with a tumour, the documentary shares how the team were able to offer contextualised care and advice to make the procedure as affordable as possible for his owners.

The documentary can be heard on demand on BBC iPlayer.