'We wanted a memorable name': Koala joey at National Zoo and Aquarium named Namadgi

The adorable koala joey has been named Namadgi.

"We wanted a memorable name for our first koala joey that was significant and meaningful to us and to the ACT," National Zoo and Aquarium team leader of Australian natives Dr Danielle Johinke said.

"[Namadgi] was an area that was so badly affected by the bushfires of last year and the beginning of this year, so we wanted to pay tribute."

The naming comes as Namadgi gets ready to take a big step.

While a koala joey is inseparable from its mother for the first year, by the time its 12 months old it goes off on its own to live the largely solitary life of a koala.

Little Namadgi, 11 months, was clutched tightly to mother, Matilda, on Friday morning but the mother-daughter bond will wither in the coming weeks.

In fact, Matilda has started to show signs she is ready to let go.

"This morning we saw Matilda decide that she wanted to change branch so she left and Namadgi was left behind," Dr Johinke said.

"That's Matilda starting to show her that she needs to become more independent.

"Over the next four weeks [Namadgi] should become 99 per cent independent."

Namadgi was born in November last year and was the first koala joey to be born at the Canberra zoo, but zookeepers did not actually get their first peek at Namadgi until May.

"Her arrival was a tremendous feat for us and we were very, very excited to see her pop out of the pouch six months later," Dr Johinke said.

The zoo has planned more koala joeys as part of its breeding program. Dr Johinke said Matlida and the zoo's male koala, Bailey, could be ready to breed again as soon as Namadgi becomes independent.

"They'll give us cues that they are interested in each other. The male koalas will start to mark trees with their scent glands so they can establish their territory," she said.

"They start bellowing as well which you can hear across the zoo and that's him trying to let the females know he is in the area and available.

"From Matilda's side she'll come to the ground, she'll be looking for that mating partner and that gives us an idea that they are ready to be introduced.

"So at that point we put them together."

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If that's the case it won't be long before the next joey arrives. The average gestation period for a koala is 35 days.

A joey is the size of a jellybean when it is born. It is born with no legs, eyes or ears; these develop in the pouch where it stays for about six months.

Koala habitats were decimated during the Black Summer bushfires and could be reclassified as endangered. There are no wild koalas left in the ACT.

"Breeding programs such as this are essential for the longevity of these species," Dr Johinke said.

"Koala populations in Australia are declining and any contribution we can make to improving that situation is just critical to the well-being and continuing evolution in Australia."