After a 15-year hiatus, an adorable tree-dwelling species is back at the Toledo Zoo.

A koala now calls the zoo’s historic aviary home. Coedie, which means “boy” in aboriginal, arrived April 24 from the San Diego Zoo. The exhibit will open to the public Friday.

“It’s a good species for the collection plan,” said Terry Webb, director of animal programs. “We’re tying them in as part of an oceanic tour through the park. Koalas are one of the [animals] that fit well into that theme.”

Koalas are also instantly recognizable, unique creatures. They have two opposing thumbs and each has distinctive fingerprints as do humans.

“We’re excited about bringing them back to the collection,” Mr. Webb said. “They were a popular species at the zoo.”

VIDEO: Coedie the Koala at the Toledo Zoo

The zoo’s previous breeding pair of koalas returned to the San Diego Zoo in 2002 after 11 years in the Glass City. Coedie, who turns 4 July 30, is actually the last offspring of Mundooie, the first male koala born in Toledo in 2000.

Koalas, native to the eucalyptus forests and woodlands along the eastern coast of Australia, are naturally solitary animals. Any potential for Toledo to receive a female for breeding purposes would be decided by the Species Survival Plan for koalas.

“It could happen, but it’s not currently on the board,” Mr. Webb said. “There’s no current plan to do that. We’re a holding facility for the SSP at this point.”

Toledo Zoo staff traveled to the San Diego Zoo for training, and Coedie was escorted on a commercial flight by senior keeper Jennifer Roesler. Ms. Roesler cared for Toledo’s previous two koalas before moving on to San Diego, and she is helping train staff and get Coedie acclimated to his new environment.

“He’s more on the shier side,” she said. “It takes him a little longer than an average koala to acclimate, and we knew that coming into this. But he’s doing wonderful. He’s eating and exploring all of his enclosure.”

Koalas are sedentary creatures, sleeping up to 22 hours a day. The rest is crucial for their digestion. Eucalyptus, their sole source of nutrition, is harmful to most animals, but koalas have a special bacteria in their digestive tract to help process the vegetation.

“It’s their hydration, their diet, everything,” Mr. Webb said. “When you’re eating toxic cellulose, you sit around a lot and digest.”

Koalas are most active at night, so visitors shouldn’t be surprised if Coedie is sleeping. But he does occasionally move about in the daytime.

“We have seen sporadic feeding throughout the day, so I’m hopeful visitors will get an opportunity to see him moving and eating,” Ms. Roesler said. “He likes to be higher, so that will be nice for the exhibit since he’ll mostly be sitting at eye level or a bit higher.”

Coedie may be joined in his exhibit by some birds, possibly lapwings or frogmouths.

“We’re looking at doing more mixed-species exhibits throughout the park, and the aviary lends itself to that well,” Mr. Webb said. “Birds don’t usually kill other things unless it’s a raptor, so birds lend themselves to doing well in mixed-species exhibits.”

Coedie is on permanent loan from San Diego’s Koala Loan Program, which has placed the animals in more than 85 cities and 12 countries. 

The California zoo’s total collection of koalas is 50, with 23 residing in San Diego.

An estimated 43,000 to 80,000 koalas live in the wild. It is estimated that 80 percent of their habitat has vanished. 

The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List names the marsupials as vulnerable with declining populations because of habitat loss, predation by dogs, disease, and climate change.

Contact Alexandra Mester: amester@theblade.com, 419-724-6066, or on Twitter @AlexMesterBlade.

First Published May 4, 2017, 4:00 a.m.