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San Francisco Zoo Welcomes Baby Koala

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – Visitors at the San Francisco Zoo got a chance to see its newest resident, a tiny baby koala.

Curator Jim Nappi, who takes care of the zoo's three adult koalas, introduced the baby to zoo goers.

KCBS' Anna Duckworth Reports:

"We're just really excited that we have this baby," he said. "It's been about 10 years since we had a baby here. We've made some attempts and they just weren't successful."

The baby koala spent most of the morning clinging to her mother's back. Mae Woon was among the first visitors to see her.

"It's like a little kitten. That's what it's like," Woon said. "It's got those cute ears."

The baby koala was only the size of a kidney bean when she was born in July. But because koalas keep growing for six months inside their mother's pouch, Nappi said they weren't sure until December that she was there.

"You don't want to be intrusive. You sometimes want to just let nature take its course," said Nappi. "So we chose to check at a later date when we felt the koala baby would be more developed."

The koala will be on view daily from 11 to 4. She doesn't have a name yet, as the zoo plans to auction off the naming opportunity at a fundraiser next month.

(© 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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