14 DAY TRIAL // A baby koala born at Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Australia about six months ago simply refuses to let go of his mother and give independence a try.
The koala joey has spent his first few weeks of life hidden inside his mother's pouch.
Now that he is simply too big to fit in it, he has no choice except grab hold of his mother's back or belly and wait for her to carry him around.
Sources say that the mother koala, named Lilli Pilli, and her offspring rarely come down from the treetops in their enclosure.
Whenever they embark on such a journey, they do it because they are eager to sink their teeth into fresh leaves.
The joey's father, Jarrah, has repeatedly tried to approach his son and get to know him, but Lilli Pilli is determined to postpone this meeting as much as possible.
Zoo keepers explain that the mother koala probably fears that Jarrah will harm the joey.