Japanese zoo has created all-girl band to help find breeding mate for their 11-year-old male wombat called ‘Fuku’

Fuku came to Satsukiyama Zoo in Osaka’s Ikeda city from Launceston, a city in northern Tasmania, in 2007 as the two cities have established a sister city relationship.

The “Keeper Girls” have been created by Satsukiyama Zoo to help find a breeding partner for a wombat at the zoo. Photo: Kyodo

“Konkatsu,” or marriage hunting, has become a buzzword in Japan at a time when birth rates and the number of people tying the knot have been falling. But humans aren’t the only ones having a hard time finding partners.

A zoo in western Japan’s Osaka Prefecture says it is struggling to find a bride for one of its wombats, the country’s only breeding-age specimen of the Australian native animal.

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