Guttural, breathy mating calls of male koalas trigger tracking devices

December 12, 2023 6:11 PM

Guttural, breathy mating calls of male koalas trigger new tracking devices. The distinctive call of male koalas looking for a mate has been programmed into sensors that are speeding up research into where the threatened animals live.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries (6 comments total)

Even koalas get AI girlfriends. I kind of hate this world.
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:22 PM on December 12, 2023

Hey ladies in the place I’m callin out to ya / never was a tree dweller ever marsupialler
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 6:34 PM on December 12, 2023 [1 favorite]

Guttural breathy mating calls from Australia?
posted by hippybear at 7:41 PM on December 12, 2023

Related to this project? I love animal calls.
posted by tiny frying pan at 5:50 AM on December 13, 2023

Oh mate. I grew up with koalas more or less in my backyard, they really undersell how loud they are. On a good day that hellnoise is audible for a few kilometers. There's also the joyful sounds of them fighting (imagine that sounds but ANGERY) and mating (imagine that sound but ANGERY and HORNEY ALSO). They always sound not just aggrieved but willing to make it everyone else's problem.
posted by Jilder at 4:30 PM on December 13, 2023

So I'm an American, currently (literally, at this moment) on a plane from Melbourne to Perth to visit family for Christmas. While in Melbourne, I took an excursion along the Great Ocean Road and saw four koalas in the wild! So imma share my best shot here.

And if y'all have never heard foxes mating, count your blessings.
posted by workerant at 12:11 AM on December 15, 2023