Cairns ZOOM and Wildlife Dome names new koala joey

The Cairns ZOOM and Wildlife Dome has announced the naming of their youngest resident, a female koala joey who will be known as Lulu.

Born in July last year, Lulu has only recently started to emerge from her mother’s pouch.

Her name as significance in that she is named after Louise Matthews, the Director of Sales at Pullman Reef Hotel Casino.

As Cairns ZOOM and Wildlife Dome is located on the roof of the Casino, Matthews has often visited the wildlife park to see her favourite resident, Nellie the Koala.

When Nellie had a female joey, the directors of the CaPTA Group thought it would be a wonderful gesture to name the little one Lulu in honour of Louise.

CaPTA Group Director of Sales and Marketing Ben Woodward said that Matthews' reaction as being "ecstatic ... it sounded like she’d won the lottery."

Explaining her first meeting with Lulu, Matthews stated “I am over the moon to have The Cairns ZOOM & Wildlife Dome’s newest baby koala arrival Lulu named after me. Lulu is a cuteness overload, and an absolute must visit."

Matthews also highlighted the close relationship between the Pullman Reef Hotel Casino and Cairns ZOOM and Wildlife Dome which, given the current state of tourism, is more important than ever.

She noted "for the last six years in my sales role at the Pullman Reef Hotel Casino I have worked closely with the CaPTA Group, and especially with Lulu’s mum Nellie who is a fixture in my sales presentations and always gets to be a talking point."

Lulu is the youngest koala to call Cairns ZOOM and Wildlife Dome home, and  the fifth Koala joey to be born in the last year for the CaPTA Group.

With a growing koala population, the CaPTA Group is consistently aiming to maintain a sustainable eucalypt source.

The CaPTA Group has recently purchased 7000 eEucalypt plants to expand their eucalypt plantations for a future supply of koala food.

The trees will be planted on the CaPTA Group’s existing plantations at Lotus Glen Correctional Centre and Wildlife Habitat in Port Douglas.

Cairns ZOOM & Wildlife Dome is an exhilarating Challenge Ropes Course consisting of ziplines, crossings and walkways in a wildlife park, allowing visitors to appreciate and be educated about our native fauna.

Images: Louise Matthews of the Pullman Reef Hotel Casino with koalas Lulu and Nellie (top) and the exterior of the Cairns ZOOM & Wildlife Dome (below). Credit: The CaPTA Group.