Parents of Rare Albino Koala Die in Zoo

The parents of a rare, 10-month-old albino koala died Tuesday in the San Diego Zoo during an emergency effort to save the mother, a zoo spokeswoman announced.

The mother, an 11-year-old named Matilda, had been diagnosed as anemic by veterinarians after it was observed to be listless and unable to climb eucalyptus trees--the marsupials’ exclusive haunts for food.

Her son Pooya--also the father of the albino--was anesthetized in a procedure to check whether his blood was suitable for transfusion. During the procedure, the 5-year-old koala went into respiratory arrest and died, spokeswoman Georgeanne Irvine said. Matilda died about 90 minutes later, she said.

Pooya was perhaps the most popular of the zoological society’s 20 koalas, having appeared on television shows and with the likes of actress Brooke Shields and Britain’s Prince Charles because of his unusual tolerance for being handled.

Irvine said that the baby albino, Goolara, has been placed with another young koala and appears to be healthy. The albino was not totally weaned, although she had already begun to eat eucalyptus leaves, the food of adult koalas.

As of late Tuesday, the albino had not “cried” for her mother, Irvine said. “If she does, we will introduce her to another female, PB, who has been known to adopt baby koalas . . .,” Irvine said. “Of course, she could not provide milk.”

The albino is the first such koala born in the United States and only the second in captivity worldwide.

Necropsies will be performed on Matilda and Pooya, Irvine said, to determine exact causes of death.