Koalas: they're cute, they're fluffy, they sound like what might happen if an idling boat motor fused permanently with a wild boar.
Recorded by keepers at the Taronga Zoo in Australia, this male koala, named “Storm", is bellowing out the song of his people, as it were. The sound is thought to attract mates during breeding season, which is currently in full swing in the land down under.
Each male koala has a unique sex-soliciting grunt and we're only just beginning to understand them. It's thought the calls also serve to ward off any competition that might be (quite literally) hanging around. By sending out the message that they're king of the castle, the solitary males can avoid potentially dangerous battles over territory.
That's not the only strange sound that comes out of these unassuming little tree dwellers, just listen to these two:
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Top header image: Jo Christian Oterhals/Flickr
Animal Behaviour
Cute
Bad Behaviour
