A gift fit for a princess: Australia’s $10,000 present for the UK’s newest royal
The Australian government is donating $10,000 to the preservation of the mountain pygmy-possum in honour of the birth of the Princess Cambridge. Supplied
The newest royal princess will be invited to visit Australia and hold a rare marsupial, the mountain pygmy-possum, after the Federal Government donated money to research on the endangered species in her name.
As part of the nation’s official gift to the newborn, the government will contribute $10,000 to Healesville Sanctuary to support its conservation work for the pygmy-possum.
Fewer than 2000 mountain pygmy-possums exist in the wild.
"I hope one day the princess can visit Australia and hold a Mountain Pygmy-possum herself," Prime Minister Tony Abbott said in a statement.
The sanctuary has established cool room facilities for research and captive breeding of the species, which is Australia's sole hibernating marsupial.
The government would send a Tasmanian Merino wool cot blanket from Launceston's Waveley Woollen Mills to keep the baby girl warm in her royal crib.
The blanket will be embroidered with Australia's floral emblem of the wattle by the ACT Embroiderer's Guild.
The second child of William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, is expected to be named in coming days.
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