koala

Koala Mating Call

Thanks to an extra set of vocal folds, the male koala's mating call is way deeper than it should be for an animal that size. As well as advertising themselves to the ladies over long distances, the calls ward off other males so there's no need for wrestling. The sound was captured by Dr Bill Ellis (Koala Ecology Group, UQ) and analysed by QUT's Bioacoustica lab.

Sounds of science: Koala mating call

A koala call, kindly supplied to RN Off Track by Brad Law from the Department of Primary Industries.

Sounds of science: Koala mating call

ABC Science