COVID-19 Lockdown
The coronavirus pandemic forced most of the world’s governments to enforce strict isolation measures on its populations, meaning that all non-essential businesses and industries were temporarily closed down.
Obviously, animal parks and zoos were no exception, so the Australian Reptile Park was left with no choice but to close its doors when the Australian government announced the new isolation measures around early April.
Quality Time With The Caregivers
This reptile park is located in Somersby, New South Wales, and it happens to be one of the most visited animal parks in the country. The coolest part is that you can actually get to interact with some of the creatures. But what were the animals' lives like without any visitors?
During the two-month isolation period, the animals got to spend more time with their caregivers, which is actually a good thing! But apart from that, the animals also spent more time with each other, and this paved the way to one of the world's most unexpected friendships!
An Unexpected Friendship
Without any visitors, the park's animals would have more time to play with each other, and that's how a koala named Elsa and a wombat named Hope became friends. How crazy is that?
According to the zookeepers, each time they had to clean the wombat's cage, they would place her in the koala's enclosure for a few minutes. Surprisingly, it wasn't long before the two furry creatures became great mates!
Friendship At First Sight
According to the zookeepers, the koala and the wombat bonded as soon as they saw each other for the first time. And ever since that day, they never wanted to leave each other's side!
Apparently, the wombat would complain each time they tried to carry her back to her cage, and so the zookeepers started letting them spend more and more time together. Isn't that the most adorable thing you've ever heard?
It Took Everybody By Surprise
This blossoming friendship became a trending topic in the news and at first, everybody thought the news was fake. As a matter of fact, the whole story took the zookeepers by surprise, too!
> "We were quite surprised to see the friendship forming! Although as a species, the wombat and the koala are related, it’s unusual to see them interact like this", zookeeper Dan Rumsey said. But how are these species related? What do they have in common?
Things They Have In Common
Even though koalas and wombats look quite different, they're both marsupials, meaning that they both have pouches. When the females give birth, their offspring stays inside the pouch during the first 6 months.
Not only do they have the same behavioral patterns when it comes to breeding, but they are also both herbivores, meaning they eat plants. According to scientists, the creatures' similar features help explain why they bonded so closely.
They Have Their Differences
I know what you're thinking: if koalas and wombats have so many things in common, then why was everyone so surprised at the fact that they bonded so quickly? Well, truth be told, both species are quite different to each other, too.
For instance, even though both are herbivores, koalas are much more picky when it comes to food. They only eat eucalyptus leaves, and that explains why they like to spend most of their time climbed to trees. Wombats, however, don't feel the need of clinging to something all the time.
Different Behavioral Patterns
But this is not all. While koalas are tree creatures, wombats love digging up holes in the ground for shelter. Therefore, while both have long, sharp claws, koalas use them for clinging onto trees, while wombats use them for digging.
However, the two animals' different behavioral patterns didn't prevent them from becoming close friends. And as soon as everyone noticed just how attached they both were, the keepers started letting them spend most of the day enjoying each other's company. How sweet is that?
Hello Kiss
Believe it or not, apart from the fact that they hang out with each other during the whole day, Elsa and Hope greet each other with a kiss each morning! Now that can't be normal, right?
"Keepers would watch on in awe as the pair bonded and greeted each other with a daily Eskimo nose kiss! It didn’t take long for them to become the best of friends", said one of the zookeepers. This is just too cute to be true!
Adorable Videos
If any of you still think this story is fake, you should know that not only are there pictures that prove it, but videos as well! So please take a few minutes and look through the videos posted by the park on social media!
One of the videos shows Hope and Elsa snuggling and nuzzling together. The video was uploaded on the park's Facebook page and it received more than 250,000 views in a matter of days.
The Talk Of The Town
From one day to the other, Elsa and Hope became the most famous animals on earth. Media outlets from all over the world picked up the news and everyone was talking about their newfound friendship.
Just by looking at the comments, you can tell that everyone was absolutely touched by this story. "Finally some good news", one of the users said. Despite the coronavirus lockdown, this news definitely raised people's spirits!
A Moving Story
But if you were touched by Elsa and Hope's friendship, wait until you learn about each of their stories! Both of their families were rescued from captivity and keepers had to hand-raise them to make sure they would survive.
"Hope and Elsa both had a rough start to life. But they are both growing into happy and healthy animals", said Gabriel, one of the zookeepers. But nothing would stop them from enjoying life in the zoo and from becoming famous worldwide!
The World's Favorite Koala
As a matter of fact, the koala had already made the headlines back in October 2019. The park shared a video of Elsa when she was only a couple of months old, and of course, the video went viral!
What broke people's hearts was not only how cute she was, but also the fact that her mother suffered from mastitis and therefore could not feed her. Therefore, the keepers were the ones in charge of feeding her, which is not as simple as it sounds!
Elsa Requires Great Care
Koalas eat quite a lot, so the when Elsa was still a baby, the keepers would have to feed her 7 bottles a day for her to survive. As time went by, she learned how to eat eucalyptus leaves by herself, and look at her now!
But even now, the keepers have to keep a close watch on Elsa, as koalas demand 24 hours of care and supervision each day. But luckily, now Elsa has a new friend who looks after her, too! I bet the keepers are relieved that Hope the wombat is there to help!
Open To The Public
Luckily, quarantine in Australia lasted for less than two months, and the park opened its doors by late June. This means that people can now visit Elsa the koala and Hope the wombat and witness this unusual bond for themselves!
According to zookeeper Shute, Elsa and Hope's friendship will shed light on the fact that Australia has the worst mammal extinction rate in the world, and koalas happen to be one of the most endangered species. Given how caring and sociable these animals are, the least we can do is look after them!