At Hirakawa Zoological Park in Kagoshima City, which is home to 16 koalas, the most in Japan, names were decided for two baby koalas born last year, and a naming ceremony was held.
The naming ceremony held on the 23rd was attended by many visitors and park staff.
When the baby koalas, a female born in May last year and a male born in June, appeared hugged by their respective mothers and being carried by zookeepers, visitors cheered and said how cute they were.
The two people named the baby koalas, chosen from more than 700 applications, and presented their names to the baby koalas: ``Tsumugi'' for the female and ``Arata'' for the male.
There are 16 koalas in captivity at Hirakawa Zoological Park, 10 females and 6 males, including the baby whose name has been decided, which is the largest number in Japan.
Niimi Umami, a fourth-grade elementary school student from Izumi City who named the baby Arata, said, "I named it Arata because it means new life. I'm looking forward to watching it grow."
Shinsaku Ochiai, a koala keeper at Hirakawa Zoological Park, said, ``It's a nice name, so I feel like it's a good way to interact with koalas.I'd like people to see them at the zoo and feel their charm.''