The first baby koala has been born at an Australian wildlife park since the devastating bushfires in New South Wales.

An Australian wildlife park is celebrating the birth of its very first baby koala since the bushfires ravaged the area.

The newborn koala, a joey, was showcased in a Facebook video shared by the Australian Reptile Park, located near Sydney, New South Wales, on Tuesday.

The caption reads: 'We have an exciting announcement… Our very first koala of the season has emerged from Mum’s pouch to say hello!'

The baby, named Ash by the keepers, is being hailed as 'a symbol of hope for the future of Australia’s native wildlife.'

The park is ready to reopen on Monday, after Australia lifts its coronavirus lockdown restrictions, as announced in a recent Facebook video.

During the quarantine, keepers have shared a continuous stream of videos, which have garnered millions of views from people eager to meet the park's animals.

While Ash brings hope and joy to the park, the bushfires that devastated Australia in late 2019 and early 2020 caused severe losses to the koala population.

A recent report published in March warns of a serious and immediate risk of extinction for koalas.

The report from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) estimates that at least 5,000 koalas have perished.

Josey Sharrad, a Wildlife Campaigner with IFAW, explained to Dinogo that 'Koalas are particularly susceptible to bushfires due to their slow movement and their habitat in eucalyptus trees, which burn rapidly and fiercely.'

'When fires ravage their homes, koalas often lack the time to escape, especially in intense crown fires that tear through the treetops they inhabit,' she added.

There was a glimmer of hope for the koalas at the end of April, as several fire-injured animals were successfully reintroduced into the wild.

The marsupials were receiving care at the world’s only hospital dedicated exclusively to koalas, situated in Port Macquarie, New South Wales.

Among the most well-known of these koalas is Anwen, a female whose photos gained widespread attention due to the severity of her burns, which affected 90% of her body.