Listen to the sound in that video. If I had to guess what it meant, soliciting sex would probably be pretty far down my list. It strikes me more as the sound a Chicago Bears fan might make after swilling a pitcher of Bud Light.
But new research has revealed for the first time that this mysterious bellowing is most likely the male koalas’ mating call.
Despite their popularity, relatively little is known about koalas’ social interactions, since they tend to be solitary and thus difficult to study. To overcome that challenge, researchers at Australia’s University of Queensland fitted 21 koalas on St. Bees Island with GPS tracking collars during the summertime mating season.
Over two months, the GPS devices recorded how often koalas came into contact with one another. The scientists found that while male-female interactions increased during mating season, male-male encounters remained rare, suggesting that the male koalas had a way of avoiding each other while attracting females.
The most likely explanation is that bellow, lead author William Ellis told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation:
Researchers suggest that the male koala’s bellowing serves to warn other males away from their territory, so there’s no need for close-up grappling and competition.
Ellis says the bellows may also be a way of communicating important information to potential mates.
“Our studies on the bellows have certainly shown us that the bellow itself contains information on size but also individuality; they are distinct for each particular male,” he says…
Given the often isolated nature of koala groups, individuality of bellows may help female koalas avoid mating with close relatives, thereby maintaining the population’s genetic diversity, says Ellis.
Happy Friday!
