Crossword Genius

Raised a fine sailor to feed king's animal (5,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

koala bear

'animal' is the definition.
(type of animal)

'raised a fine sailor to feed king's' is the wordplay.
'raised' says the letters should be written backwards (going up in a down clue).
'fine' becomes 'ok' (synonyms).
'sailor' becomes 'ab' (abbreviation for able seaman).
'to feed' indicates putting letters inside.
'king' becomes 'lear' (King Lear).
'a'+'ok'='aok'
'aok' back-to-front is 'koa'.
'ab' placed within 'lear' is 'labear'.
'koa'+'labear'='KOALA BEAR'

(Other definitions for koala bear that I've seen before include "Eucalyptus eater" , "Australian resident" , "Marsupial climber" , "Creature" , "Australian arboreal marsupial" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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