Zoo branches out with koala exhibit

By LENORA LAKE | llake@tampatrib.com
Published: June 30, 2009

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TAMPA --

Bundaleer, a 10-year-old Queensland koala, took the grand opening of his exhibit in stride.

While several hundred visitors to Lowry Park Zoo waited in the heat Monday to see the new resident, Bundaleer stayed snuggled among the eucalyptus leaves in his climate-controlled habitant.

A 10-minute ribbon-cutting ceremony included Craig Pugh, the zoo's acting chief executive officer, who said Bundaleer serves an ambassador for the importance of conservation. Koalas were once hunted to near extinction with more than 8 million killed between 1919 and 1924.

Lenora Lake

Keyword: Koala, to view a photo gallery of the zoo's new resident.