It's a boy! Edinburgh Zoo reveals name and gender of first koala joey born in Britain

A koala joey has finally been named after keepers discovered that the baby bear is a male.

Yooranah was born at Edinburgh Zoo last May, but staff waited until he had fully emerged from mother Alinga's pouch before they handled him.

When he was born, the joey was the size of a jelly bean, hairless and blind, but now weighs a healthy 1lb 6oz and has excellent vision.

During weigh-ins, he is placed on a soft koala toy from the zoo's gift shop, to give him something to cling on to as well as for comfort.

As Yooranah is so small, the keepers use a digital scale, similar to household kitchen scales, to track his weight and progress.

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 is also starting to develop his own personality - he can be quite feisty like his mother Alinga and father Goonaroo."

The name Yooranah comes from an indigenous Australian term meaning "loving".