Koalas in the night (Audio clip)

I had given up on writing my blog last night (I’m trying to get the adventures with mum wrapped up before I start having adventures with mom! …. Just one more week!!!!!)

I had gone up to the house to brush my teeth and use the toilet before drowsing in front of the

tellie and going to sleep. On my way back to the dojo I remembered that Julia (my WWOOF host) had told me she had heard a koala down past the drive that evening. I figured I’d stand around and listen for a bit. It was a nice night – clear, but not cold, with a sliver of a moon sending light through the trees. I turned my torch off and stood on the drive listening to the distant dogs and the nearby frogs in the pond.

I was hoping to hear the growling, slight barking of a koala (male?) drifting through the trees from some nearby property. I was NOT expecting to hear the low, scratchy sounds coming from right in front of me!!!!! WOW!!! I listened for a bit, deciding the animal really didn’t sound too much like a bear; which many people had compared it to (hence “koala bear”….. many people get a tad upset if you say bear after koala anymore though – even if it is what you grew up calling them). To me, a koala sounds a lot like a wild pig, mixed with a bit of frog. I got really excited at the fact that it kept sounding, so I walked to the dojo door, surprised that the volume increased as I moved between the garage and bamboo.

It was quite loud at the steps from the dojo into the bush. I ran in and grabbed my camera, hoping to catch decent enough sound quality of video.

I got a low bit of the growling and barking when I returned, but then he stopped! I walked back down to the drive and started recording – hoping he would start again. I have great audio of the frogs and dogs! I have no idea how long I stood outside waiting again. I was sure the koala was still around – I hadn’t heard that much movement in the bush to make me believe he had moved on. I listened as leaves fell, branches rustled (possums? bandicoots?), and occasionally it sounded like claws scraped against bark. I wandered back to the dojo entrance and was impressed with how much quieter was – I couldn’t hear the dogs at all and the frogs were greatly diminished. I stood in the light for another long time, then went down the steps a bit. Again, I’ve no idea how long I stood there – but my patience ended up paying off!

I stood in near darkness listening to something that sounded to be mere feet away!!!! I actually got a tad scared! As I said, a koala sounds a bit like a wild pig to me. I don’t think I would want to meet a wild pig in the forest – I was pretty sure I didn’t want to surprise a koala either!!!

I started recording as soon as I heard the vocalizations, and WOW – did my patience ever reward me. I don’t think the koala itself actually got closer to me (there was no sound of underbrush being crunched by feet), but the voice got a lot louder! My heart was beating was really fast by the end and my feet were pretty much rooted in the spot.

I stuck around while it went through another series of vocalizations and then decided I should think about heading to bed again. I texted a few people to tell them my news and then edited the video down from 47mb (which would take ages to load to blog) down to 2……

What do you think a Koala sounds like?

(I looked in all the trees this morning after my toilet run….. I didn’t see any big lumps in the trees that might be a resting koala).