Night Sounds of the Australian Bush – Koala Calls

What does a Koala sound like? Hint: not so cute & cuddly!
 

This recording was made around 1am in the rainforest of Nightcap National Park, NSW. The unusually deep bellowing vocalizations of the Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) are due to a special sound-producing organ not found in any other land mammal. According to koala researcher Benjamin Charlton “We have discovered that koalas possess an extra pair of vocal folds that are located outside the larynx, where the oral and nasal cavities connect. We also demonstrated that koalas use these additional vocal folds to produce their extremely low-pitched mating calls.”

Both male & female koalas can make these bellowing calls, though it’s usually made by males looking to attract a mate.