Face oddity - Bowie the koala's eyes stun Aussie vets

The marsupial was recently admitted to the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital after apparently being hit by a car

SYDNEY: With one bright blue eye and one brown, a koala with a rare condition has dazzled vets in Australia who have named her Bowie after the late singer.

The marsupial was recently admitted to the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital north of Brisbane after apparently being hit by a car, with vets stunned to find she had different coloured eyes -- much like David Bowie's.

The extremely rare condition is known as heterochromia, which the hospital said was the result of a recessive gene inherited from her parents affecting the pigmentation in her iris.



"Bowie's heterochromia doesn't affect how she sees the world around her, in fact her eyesight is great, exactly what we like to see in a young koala," treating vet Sharon Griffiths said Tuesday, adding that Bowie had a bruised leg.



This undated handout photo received from Australia Zoo on July 12, 2016 shows a koala named Bowie with different coloured eyes at the zoo, north of Brisbane. PHOTO: AFP



This undated handout photo received from Australia Zoo on July 12, 2016 shows a koala named Bowie with different coloured eyes at the zoo, north of Brisbane. PHOTO: AFP

"Apart from being extremely lucky in avoiding injury on the road, she's also incredibly unique as heterochromia isn't a common occurrence in koalas; it's more often found in domestic mammal species such as dogs and cats."



The condition is similar to the one that helped define the look of Bowie the singer, who died from cancer earlier this year.

The British star was widely reported to have anisocoria, characterised by an unequal size in his pupils, giving the illusion of different coloured eyes.