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\"We have a very special announcement... Our very first koala of the season has popped out of Mums pouch to say hello!\" the park wrote. \"Keepers have decided to name her Ash! Ash is the first koala born at the park since the tragic Australian bushfires and is a sign of hope for the future of Australia's native wildlife.\"

Catastrophic bushfires devastated Australia beginning in early July 2019 and into early 2020. New South Wales burned for more than 240 days, with more than 13 million acres scorched and nearly 2,500 homes destroyed, according to New South Wales Rural Fire Service. At least 25 people were killed across the country, according to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

More than 1 billion animals were killed in the fires, according to estimates from January 2020 by the University of Sydney. At least 800 million of those animals were in New South Wales.

After months of blazes, the New South Wales Rural Fire Service reported in March that there were \"currently no active bush or grass fires in [New South Wales].\"

For the first time since early July 2019, there is currently no active bush or grass fires in #NSW. That's more than 240 days of fire activity for the state. #nswfires #nswrfs pic.twitter.com/NpjF3lAHKa

— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) March 2, 2020

As represented by her name, this new baby koala stands to represent hope for the wildlife that is beginning to rise from the ashes left by the devastating fire season.

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A post shared by Australian Reptile Park (@australianreptilepark) on May 13, 2020 at 12:53am PDT

The Australian Reptile Park, where Ash will make her debut, was closed due to coronavirus restrictions, but plans to reopen on June 1 with new social distancing precautions in place for visitors.

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