New koala arrives at the Palm Beach Zoo

  Friday evening, the koala population at the Palm Beach Zoo doubles, when new arrival Abby, makes her public debut.

"It's also the start of a very elaborate breeding program here at the Palm Beach Zoo. It's not only great for the visitors to see this animal, it's part of a very scientific program here as well," said Keith Lovett, the Director of Living Collections at the zoo.

Zoo visitors have had about six months to get used to Oz, the zoo's first koala in over ten years.

He's a southern boy, acquired from the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia South Carolina.
"He's a little more laid back. A little more chill," said Lovett.

Oz is far from the active surfer girl, he'll soon be hanging out with. "Abby's definitely an L.A. girl. She's quite the personality. It should be interesting once we put these guys together and see how their personalities mesh," said Lovett.

Only time will tell if they're a match made in heaven. "There's some individuals that just don't hit it off, depends on the individual. But we're really hopeful, these two were put together based on their genetics more than anything else," said Lovett.

In fact, genetically, they're a perfect match. This is good news for the zoo’s breeding program, and the species.

"Their numbers are actually starting to drop in the wild, and there's a lot of estimations that they could become vulnerable in the future," said Lovett.

Abby makes her public debut Friday, but she won't meet Oz for a while yet.

For now, she'll have a long distance relationship until keepers see a mutual interest.