There are lyrebirds at the bottom of Bungonia gorge that accurately mimic the sound of people walking with racks of climbing gear. I've heard them many times. O

There are lyrebirds at the bottom of Bungonia gorge that accurately mimic the sound of people walking with racks of climbing gear. I've heard them many times. Only one point of anecdata, but I'm convinced they'll attempt to mimic any sound they're exposed to for long enough. Edit: the article that you linked mentions that they have a range of metallic sounds in their vocab already, so I assume they've just copied the pitches and patterns distinctive to people walking with a trad rack. Still off-putting when you hear it for hours and the entire gorge can be traversed in about 20 minutes and is completely visible from a couple of pitches up a climb. You tend to assume that there's another climbing party aimlessly wandering in circles just out of sight!