The distinctive deep grunts and belows of the male Koalas sound in Australian forests in spring, but researchers still don’t understand what they mean.

Noises from koalas on St Bees Island off the coast of Mackay, in central Queensland, are now being relayed to a Brisbane laboratory via mobile phone technology.

University of Queensland koala researcher Dr Bill Ellis said the information was fed into an acoustic database, and Queensland University of Technology (QUT) researchers were developing software to recognise koala calls automatically.

“We are studying whether males are talking to other males, or to females, and how vocalisations might stimulate breeding behaviour in female koalas,” Dr Ellis said.

QUT Professor Richard Mason said the technology, used at Brisbane Airport to research bird calls, was a good way for Dr Ellis to eavesdrop on the marsupials without disturbing them.

Prof Mason said microphones connected to the phones monitored the island’s acoustic environment for two minutes every half hour.

“The sensors are remote controlled, so that if we want to change the recording schedule in response to data on when the calls are most prevalent, for example, we can,” he said.

The team is excited about the data it has collected so far, as well as the prospect of adapting the technology to other eco systems.

Source: APP

There is a deep grunting bellow which the male uses to signify its social and physical position. Males save fighting energy by bellowing their dominance and they also bellow to allow other animals to accurately locate the position of the caller.

Females do not bellow as often as males, but their calls too are used to express aggression as well as being part of sexual behaviour, often giving the impression of fighting.

Mothers and babies make soft clicking, squeaking sounds and gentle humming or murmuring sounds to one another, as well as gentle grunts to signal displeasure or annoyance.

All koalas share one common call which is elicited by fear. It is a sickening cry like a baby screaming and is made by animals under stress. It is often accompanied by shaking.

Koalas also communicate by marking their trees with their scent.

LISTEN TO EXAMPLES HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Direct Source: http://www.thekoala.com/koala/