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Koala and wombat become adorable 'lockdown BFFs'

Published  June 5, 2020 8:36pm EDT
Pets and Animals
Storyful

A koala and wombat become best friends amid lockdown

A koala bear and a wombat became best friends during the coronavirus lockdown at the Australian Reptile Park

SOMERSBY, New South Wales - A koala and wombat became best friends as they “isolated together” at the Australian Reptile Park in Somersby, New South Wales.

Footage released by the park on June 3 shows “Iso-buddies” Hope the wombat and Elsa the koala hanging out and sharing kisses.

According to the park, the marsupials bonded while the zoo was temporarily closed during April and May due to the coronavirus pandemic, as keepers often put them in each other’s enclosures for company, and soon they were dubbed “lockdown BFFs.”

Australian Reptile Park curator, Hayley Shute, said that Hope and Elsa are “great ambassadors for Australian wildlife,” which needs all of the help it can get at the moment.

“Australia has the worst mammal extinction rate on the planet. Our iconic koala is sadly experiencing a large decline in numbers due, in part, to the tragic bush fires we had earlier this year and they’re on the trajectory to be extinct in the wild by 2050,” she said in a press release.