In 1925, the little San Diego Zoo gained international attention with the arrival of Australia’s best-known marsupial: koalas. But when director Tom Faulconer made the arduous trip down under to collect the animals, he was disappointed to find that the Australian government had failed to grant the permits necessary to remove the species from the country. However, before Faulconer set sail for his return to the states, a delivery truck pulled up with a gift from the children of Sydney to the children of San Diego. They were Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, the first koalas in North America, named after characters in an Australian children’s book. Read Snugglepot and Cuddlepie’s story HERE.