Crescent Head Jimmy, the orphaned baby koala who became an internet hit, is released back into the wild

By SARA MALM

Adorable: The cute baby koala lost his mother in a car crash three years ago but has now made full recovery and will be released into the wild

An orphaned baby koala who became an online hit has been released in the wild.
The story of Crescent Head Jimmy went viral after staff at an Australian animal hospital posted pictures of him on Facebook.
Little Jimmy weighed just over a pound when he was brought to the Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie, New South Wales after his mother had been killed in a car crash.

Orphaned: The size of the young Jimmy becomes very clear as he sits next to a chair . He weighed little more than a pound when he arrived at the Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie

Supervisor Cheyne Flanagan said that the baby koala was covered in bruises and in pretty bad shape when he first arrived in 2009.
However, thanks to the care of the staff, and perhaps his huge online fanbase, Jimmy is now well enough to be released into the wild.

Popular: This photo of Jimmy taking a break in his basked with a cuddly toy and some eucalyptus leaves went viral after staff posted it on Facebook

The first photos of the baby koala posted to Tourism Australia's Facebook page got 200,000 ‘likes’ and 70,000 shares.
An encore re-post on the social networking site received an additional 50,000 'likes' and 11,000 shares.

Jimmy clings onto Supervisor Cheyne Flanagan's leg as he would onto his mother's back in the wild. Koala joeys - as the young are called - stay with their mothers for up to three years

Jimmy looks suspicious of the photographer as he climbs over a table at the animal hospital

Although koalas are called bears, they're actually marsupials, its closest relative is the wombat.
It is estimated that there are around 80,000 koalas living in the wild in Australia.
They spend much of their lives in eucalyptus trees, feeding almost exclusively on leaves.
Koala bears rarely need to drink as the leaves are 50 per cent water, making their appearances out of the eucalyptus trees rare.

Moving out: After three years in hospital care Jimmy is finally ready to move into a eucalyptus tree of his own

source: dailymail