PM Transcripts

PRIME MINISTER
FOR PRESS9 JUNE 1976
U. S. BICENTENNIAL GIFT OF KOALA BEARS
Australia will present six Koala Bears to the people
of America as part of our programme for the celebrationof
the U. S. Bicentennial.
The bears which have been bred in captivity at the Lone
Pine Sanctuary in Brisbane, will be housed at the
renowned San Diego Zoo in California, where they will
be seen by 3,500,000 people who visit the Zoo each year.
An initial gift of Koalas was made to the zoo in the
early 1950' s but with the passage of time the colony
was now reduced to three aged female Bears.
The San Diego climate is well suited to the Bears
and there are plenty of eucalyptus trees to provide food.
The San Diego Zoo has an excellent record of caring
for its colony of Koalas.
Present keepers pla-ns-are for the bears to travel with their
by Qantas aircraft late in July.
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