Koala named Triumph lets out a gorilla-like bellow as he marks his territory 

Koala named Triumph lets out a gorilla-like bellow that ‘sounds like he’s got asthma’ as he marks his territory

  • Triumph the koala rubbed his chest against a climbing frame to mark his territory
  • Male koalas have a scent gland on their chest that produces pungent oily liquid
  • They rub their chest on trees to warn off other males and attract female mates
  • After marking his territory, Triumph was filmed making rapid growls and grunts
  • Bellowing is another way that male koalas assert their dominance  

The hilarious moment a koala lets out a loud gorilla-like bellow after marking his territory has been captured on video.  

Triumph the male koala made the loud roar while in the care of non-profit community group Friends of the Koala in the Northern Rivers of NSW last month. 

Footage shows Triumph prowling across a wooden climbing frame and letting out rapid growls and grunts before reaching the top to look over his territory. 

Triumph the male koala (pictured) made the loud roar while in the care of non-profit community group Friends of the Koala in the Northern Rivers of NSW last month

‘Sounds like he’s got asthma!’ a veterinary nurse said in the video.

Friends of the Koala veterinary nurse Marley Christian later posted a video of the loud koala to Facebook on October 25. 

‘After marking his scent all over the stand, Triumph lets out his triumphant bellow. And no he does not have asthma,’ Ms Christian captioned the post.   

She previously posted another video of Triumph rubbing his body on the wooden climbing frame to mark his territory. 

Footage shows Triumph prowling across a wooden climbing frame and letting out rapid growls and grunts before reaching the top to look over his territory

Footage shows Triumph prowling across a wooden climbing frame and letting out rapid growls and grunts before reaching the top to look over his territory

‘Triumph doing some serious scent rubbing,’ she captioned the post. 

Male koalas have a scent gland in the middle of their chest that produces a strong-smelling oily substance that can be rubbed against trees to mark their territory. 

Marking territory has two purposes – to warn other male koalas to keep away and to attract females to mate. 

Triumph’s hilarious video comes after another koala named George was filmed roaring at a rival male introduced into his pen. 

George, who is an elderly koala aged 10 or 11, bellowed at the Koalas of Raymond Island shelter in the Gippsland Lakes, 300km east of Melbourne

Koalas of Raymond Island posted a video of George roaring to Facebook last month. 

‘Our gentle giant George was not happy when he could smell our newest koala in care Ivan,’ the post was captioned. 

Ms Christian previously posted another video of Triumph rubbing his body on the wooden climbing frame. Male koalas have a scent gland in the middle of their chest that produces a strong-smelling oily substance that can be rubbed against trees to mark their territory

Ms Christian previously posted another video of Triumph rubbing his body on the wooden climbing frame. Male koalas have a scent gland in the middle of their chest that produces a strong-smelling oily substance that can be rubbed against trees to mark their territory

In the clip, George makes a screechy roar that sounded like a cross between a snore and a burp. 

Koalas of Raymond Island Shelley Robinson explained their shelter was over-capacity and they tried to put George and Ivan in the same pen. 

‘We had George in our care. He is quite an elderly koala who had been beat up and chased by a couple of other males so we took him in,’ she told Daily Mail Australia. 

‘We had another rescue Ivan but we’re at capacity so we brought Ivan down to see if they were compatible. But George was not happy. 

‘They’re both from same area, so Ivan may have been one of the offenders of beating George up. 

‘We can rarely put dominant males together, we can’t put them with females or joeys either, so it’s tricky.’ 

George (pictured), who is an elderly koala aged 10 or 11, made the 'unhappy' bellow at the Koalas of Raymond Island shelter in the Gippsland Lakes, 300km east of Melbourne

George (pictured), who is an elderly koala aged 10 or 11, made the ‘unhappy’ bellow at the Koalas of Raymond Island shelter in the Gippsland Lakes, 300km east of Melbourne

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