Cuddly koala in Leipzig: a surprise before the naming ceremony

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Still no name – and not even a kilo in weight. But both are set to change! Monday 19 January 2026 is the deadline for submitting name suggestions for the star koala at Leipzig Zoo. And now Erlinga and her baby have even had some distinguished visitors. Alongside the familiar reporters from the ‘Elefant, Tiger und Co.’ team, some new faces suddenly appeared. The LZ was there.

Last chance for name suggestions

More than 2,000 ideas from koala fans have already been received. Could the clear favourite already be among them? Monday marks the deadline for submitting your own name suggestions via the Leipzig Zoo’s website.

The cub, born last June, already has a ‘working name’. ‘We want to be able to address the little creature somehow,’ zookeeper Philipp Hünemeyer tells the LZ. “But we definitely won’t be sticking with our affectionate nickname, Knopfi. Especially as it couldn’t be translated into any indigenous Australian language.” And the future name should also reflect the koalas’ origins to some extent.

Look who’s peeking through the bushes

The voices of the reporters from “Elefant, Tiger und Co.”have now become familiar to Erlinga and her little daughter. Week after week, they report on the lives and development of these silver-grey visitor favourites. But who on earth is suddenly trudging through the enclosure?

The Mainzelmännchen have sent a delegation! The ZDF Mittagsmagazin programme has turned up, working on a feature about the stock-take in the koala house. What are they eating? And – importantly – how much! Who weighs what, and this and that. And when it comes to weighing, every day brings a surprise. Whilst the little nameless sweetheart had weighed just 860 grams during filming for the latest episode of the popular MDR zoo documentary, she had already reached 940 grams by the time the visitors from Mainz arrived.

By the time of her christening, the koala girl will have crossed the one-kilo mark. And is therefore developing superbly. In the wild, young koalas should weigh 500 grams after half a year, as the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) explains in its koala dossier. Mum Erlinga has also put on weight between the two measurements. After all, when you’ve got a lot to carry, you end up eating a few more eucalyptus leaves.

Erlinga remains a single mum

Meanwhile, koala dad Yuma (who came to Leipzig from Duisburg Zoo) is back in the neighbouring enclosure. To allow mother and child to grow up with as little stress as possible, things had initially been kept quiet there. But he won’t get to meet his daughter after all: koalas are solitary animals.

After mating, the parents go their separate ways. The fathers do not take part in rearing the young. This is not unusual in the animal kingdom! Tigers, bears, roe deer and seals, amongst others, also avoid each other as soon as mating is complete.

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Leipzig Zoo is still operating on its winter opening hours (09:00 to 17:00). This means reduced admission prices. The zoo can be reached by tram line 12, which stops right outside the entrance. And for anyone booking their day ticket for adults, children or families online, a ticket for local trains, buses or trams (LVB Zone 110 for Leipzig) is already included in the price.

The zoo also has its own multi-storey car park, which includes plenty of parking spaces for bicycles.

The zoo is fully accessible. Visitors with disabilities can collect their tickets straight away, without having to queue, at the group ticket office in the Safari Office.