This Koala Was Named After David Bowie Because Of Its Beautiful Eyes

A koala that was hit by a car in Queensland in north eastern Australia is recovering well after being rescued by the zoo owned by Steve Irwin's family.

Ben Beaden / Via Facebook: WildlifeWarriorsWorldwide

The Koala, named Bowie because it has differently coloured eyes, similar to late music icon David Bowie, escaped serious injury in the accident.

Ben Beaden / Via Facebook: WildlifeWarriorsWorldwide

According to the Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors, Bowie has a rare gene called heterochromia, resulting in one brown and one blue eye.

She was taken to the zoo after being hit by a car on Queensland's Sunshine Coast last month and was given some fluids and pain relief for a slight limp.

"Apart from being extremely lucky in avoiding injury on the road, she's also incredibly unique as heterochromia isn't a common occurrence in koalas; it's more often found in domestic mammal species such as dogs and cats," the zoo's vet, Dr Sharon Griffiths said.

“Bowie’s heterochromia doesn’t affect how she sees the world around her, in fact her eyesight is great, exactly what we like to see in a young koala."

Bowie is still being held at the zoo, but will be hopefully released back into the wild soon.

Ben Beaden

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