SINGAPORE - The four furry koala which were in Singapore for a 10-month stay have returned to their home Down Under.

Paddle, Pellita, Chan and Idalia were sent back to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane, Australia, Qantas Airways said on Thursday (Feb 4).

The airline flew the marsupials back after a month-long quarantine in their enclosure here.

The Australian government had loaned them to the Singapore Zoo last April to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, as well as to commemorate Singapore's 50th birthday.

To regularly supply fresh food to the herbivorous animals, Qantas Freight shipped gum leaves to the zoo here twice a week. This eventually amounted to 75 shipments of foliage weighing over 4,400kg.

The "diplomatic mission" was deemed a success, with over 800,000 guests visited the koalas from May to December last year.