Rare white koala born at Australian zoo

This undated handout from the Australia Zoo received on August 22, 2017 shows a white koala joey on her mother Tia at the Australia Zoo on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. - AFP/Australia Zoo

SYDNEY: A koala at an Australian zoo has given birth to a rare white joey, staff announced Tuesday.

Handlers at the Australia Zoo on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast say the pale animal born in January owes its white fur to a recessive gene inherited from mother Tia.