Female koala Sydney has passed away

On 4 October we had to perform emergency surgery on our female koala Sydney. Despite intensive medical and veterinary care, she died during the night of 7 October.

Sydney came to Dresden from Antwerp Zoo in April 2019. The hope was that she and our male koala Mullaya would produce offspring. However, this did not happen, as Sydney had a growth in her vagina and bladder that was almost certainly the cause of her infertility. This growth was monitored regularly and did not seem to be causing any other problems. Due to the high risks associated with an operation, no procedure was undertaken at this stage. However, this year, Sydney experienced repeated urinary incontinence, and recently this became painful for her. Ultrasound and CT scans last Friday revealed that she had a very full bladder and blockages in her ureters and renal pelvis. As this was no doubt related to the growth mentioned above, an emergency operation was performed while she was still under anaesthetic, in order to relieve the discomfort. This is a complicated procedure in koalas due to the nature of their reproductive anatomy, so taking into account diagnosis and the subsequent surgery, Sydney was under anaesthetic for well over three hours. Although the operation itself was a success, Sydney did not fully recover from the procedure and required a great deal of care and attention in the days that followed. Sadly, her condition continued to deteriorate and Sydney passed away during the night of 7 October.

A thorough pathological examination is currently underway, and we hope this will provide us with information on Sydney’s condition.