Scientists Discovered the Anatomy behind the Strange Sound made by Koala

Scientists discovered the anatomy behind the strange sound that male koala makes during mating season. Male koalas have very long vocal tracts - structures in their throats that produce the sounds.Their vocal tract anatomy is so unusually specialised, in fact, that they are able to make sounds that make them sound far larger than they are.

The study was published in the Journal of Experimental Biology. Scientists used medical imaging to reveal that a male koala's voice box, or larynx, sits very low in its throat.

The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae.

The koala is found in coastal regions of eastern and southern Australia, from Adelaide to the southern part of Cape York Peninsula.