A superhero origin story would absolutely be 12 years in a cage and then set free by secretive criminals. That’s the story of Flaco, the Eurasian Eagle Owl, released from his vandalised cage in Central Park Zoo, New York City.  He turned up in the middle of an intersection nearby, looking dazed and people in the know thought, ‘This is going to end badly,’ because animals released from captivity have an extremely low survival rate.  But Flaco – ‘skinny’ in Spanish – flew in the face of all...

Usually, it's humans putting animals in cages, but sometimes the animals do it to themselves. Female platypus lock themselves in burrows to breed, great hornbill males lock females up in the hollow of a tree (they seal it up with fruit and poop) and potter wasps paralyse caterpillars for their babies to eat. Today on What The Duck?!, Dr Ann Jones investigates the wild and hostile world of animal jails. Are the animals just psycho killers or do they have their reasons?   Featuring: Geoff...

At first, you might think it is a plot from a zombie movie: that undead animals are coming for you. But it turns out that Australia's animals aren't just dangerous when they're alive — they can be deadly even when they're dead. Ann Jones is joined by science reporter Belinda Smith to examine why snakes can still bite up to 45 minutes after death and are potentially dangerous for years. Think we're lying? Belinda found a guy whose great aunt (and her dog) were killed by a decapitated...

Cassie and Claire have watched their parrot talk in its sleep... so is it dreaming? And, if animals DO dream... will we ever know what they’re dreaming about? Ann Jones tries to find out. Featuring: Cassie, Claire and Pidgey the Parrot.  Associate Professor Nicole Lovato, Flinders University.  Associate Professor John Lesku, La Trobe University.  Professor David Pena Guzman, author of ‘Animal Dreaming’ and San Francisco State University.   Professor Sidarta Ribeiro, neuroscientist at...

Birds can fly while half their brain is sleeping and some spiders sleep dangling on a silk thread, but what about worms. Do worms sleep? Featuring: Associate Professor John Lesku, La Trobe University.  Dr Shauni Omond, @shauniomond.sleepsci on Instagram, La Trobe University.   Professor Niels Rattenborg, Research leader on Avian Sleep, Max Planck Institute.  Dr Daniela Roessler, University of Konstanz.  Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer. Petria Ladgrove, Producer. Additional...

Female sage-grouse birds have decided that they want to see a weird sexy dance when deciding on a mate. Ann Jones explores the creativity of female choice in the animal world in this episode of What the Duck?! Featuring: Lucy Cooke, Zoologist and author of Bitch A Revolutionary Guide to Sex, Evolution and the Female Animal. Professor Gail L Patricelli,  University of California, Davis.  Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer. Petria Ladgrove, Producer. Additional mastering:...

Female lab mice have been bred to be passive and breed with ease. But, in the wild they're feisty and even pugnacious. How much of our biological understanding of the world is based on misogyny? Featuring: Lucy Cooke, Zoologist and author of Bitch A Revolutionary Guide to Sex, Evolution and the Female Animal. Professor Arthur Georges, University of Canberra. Professor Catherine Dulac, Harvard University. Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer. Petria Ladgrove, Producer. Additional...

There's a whole world of mystery, and quite a bit of maths,  inside the humble sea shell. Forget ancestry searches online, shells can tell you the history of the world! Featuring: Amy Prendergast, University of Melbourne. Jann Vendetti, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.  Dr Paul Butler, Researcher at the University of Exeter.  This episode was originally broadcast in March 2023.  Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer. Petria Ladgrove, Producer. Additional mastering:...

There's only a handful of animals on earth that go through menopause, where females get to hang up the ovaries and enjoy a change of life. So, why have we (humans, chimps and some toothed whales) established a sexual retirement of sorts? What is everyone else missing out on? Featuring: Associate Professor Kevin Langergraber, Primatologist, Arizona State University. Charli Grimes, PhD student, University of Exeter. Production: Belinda Smith, Reporter/Producer.  Ann Jones,...

We will all go to trouble to get a good meal, but some animals take it to the extreme. Some build architectural masterpieces to entrap their prey, or use body parts as lures. But what is your cat doing when it makes the 'ek ek ek ek?' Is it trying to bewitch the birds?  Featuring: Professor Kris Helgen, Australian Museum. Julia Henning, PhD candidate, University of Adelaide. Associate Professor Inon Scharf, Tel Aviv University. Dr David Merritt, Entomologist. Associate Professor Ajay...

Despite spending years and millions of dollars, the Tasmanian Fox Eradication team never, not once, not ever, spotted a live fox on the Apple Isle. While their efforts yielded zero foxes, it spawned a tale of lies, alleged corruption, and more scats than you could poke a stick at.  Featuring: Ian Townsend, former ABC Radio National Journalist. David Kelly, Manager of the Threatened Species Unit, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. Jonah Yick, Program leader (Carp Management) Inland...

You have a lot to thank sheep for. Yes, sheep. More than just wool and meat — sheep have played a part in the development of contraception and reproduction in humans. It's not as dodgy as it sounds, but it is absolutely surprising. Listening to this show will have you thanking every sheep you see from here on out. Featuring: Tara Farms, YouTuber, and sheep farmer. Sally Coulthard, historian, smallholder, and author of A Short History of the World according to Sheep. Dr Charles Roselli,...

For years we've barely even talked about the human clitoris let alone the fact that snakes have TWO.  This program has adult themes. Featuring: Belinda Smith, ABC Science Online Reporter.  Lucy Cooke, Author and Film maker. Megan Folwell, University of Adelaide. Dr Jenna Crowe-Riddell, La Trobe University. Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer. Petria Ladgrove, Producer. Additional mastering: Angie Grant This program was first broadcast in 2023. This episode of What the...

Would you meet a stranger in a park with a pile of snakes?  Comedian Craig Quartermaine took the risk in an attempt to overcome his fears. Featuring: Craig Quartermaine, comedian.  Sandy Dickinson, Urban Reptiles. Jonathan Wright, announcer's voice.  Production: Ann Jones, presenter/producer. Petria Ladgrove, producer. Joel Werner, script editor. Field recording: Dylan Prins. Additional mastering: Angie Grant. This episode was originally broadcast in 2023. This episode of What the...

Could a legless lizard be 'minimalist of the year' for famous podcaster T. K. Coleman? Ann Jones leads an unlikely gang of animal experts on a tidy dance through the philosophy of minimalism. There are moths without mouths, flies without wings, and a worm-lizard that will even declutter its own tail.  Move over Marie Kondo, Minimalist Mother Nature is in town.  Featuring: T. K. Coleman, Co-host of the Minimalists Podcast. Dr. Bryan Lessard, aka Bry the Fly Guy, entomologist and author of...

ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) is a tingly sensation that can bring relaxation, and it's spawned a growing industry of videos online of whispering, tapping, mouth noises and soft speaking.  But, if you wanted quiet, intimate sounds, well, Nature does it so. much. better.  Ann Jones goes on an ASMR journey with vibrating caterpillars, whispering monkeys and birds who want to keep secrets.  Featuring: Dr Giulia Poerio, University of Sussex. Thanh Sagris, ASMR artist,...

Imagine you've just been cancelled for a controversial opinion about Taylor Swift's musical output, and you have to go to ground. You can act like the Olsen twins, and hide behind big glasses and a big coat. Or you could take a lesson from nature and blend in, like a proverbial spotty quoll into the bush. When it comes to camouflage and animal markings, there's a lot we can learn from the animal kingdom. Featuring: Dr Belinda Wilson, The Australian National University. Associate Professor...

Right now, you’re probably sitting on one of the most unique things about humans. One thing that separates us from the apes, from the birds, from EVERYTHING on earth. The thing that allows us to walk upright, on two legs. We have big butts and I cannot lie, This sort of exceptionalism doesn’t deny, That when a bird walks in with a little bit of haste And drumsticks in your face, you have to admit that bipedalism ISN’T what’s interesting. It's actually our peachy...

How many species live around your house? In the COVID lockdown of 2020, three housemates decided to count. They thought there’d only be a handful, but the number kept rising and rising. Could their simple suburban Queenslander house be the next candidate for a new national park? What the Duck?! is back for Season 6. Featuring: Dr Matt Holden, Mathematician, University of Queensland. Dr Andrew Rogers, Ecologist, University of Melbourne. Dr Russell Yong, Taxonomist.  Production: Ann...

Fruit flies, guinea pigs, frogs, monkeys, turtles, cats and dogs… all sorts of animals have been to space. Find out who made small steps for mankind before we could even spacewalk as Ann goes through the emotional turmoil of hearing animals in space.  Featuring: James Foley, Author and Illustrator. Kerrie Dougherty OAM, Senior Heritage and Outreach Officer, Australian Space Agency. Emeritus Professor John P. Gluck, University of New Mexico and Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown...

You probably have a daddy-long-legs in your house right now. But when is having a weird housemate in the corner ACTUALLY a good thing? Dr Ann Jones investigates. This episode was first published on the 9th of September 2023.  Featuring: Dr Samantha Nixon, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Dr Lizzy Lowe, Invertebrates Australia. Thanks also to Dr Bernhard Huber, Arachnid Curator at Museum Koenig for helping us get the facts right. Production: Ann Jones, Presenter /...

An ornithologist, a veterinarian and a religious devotee must find the serial killer before every last vulture in India is dead. The episode was first published on the 2nd of September 2023.  Featuring: Dr Campbell Murn, Head of Conservation at Hawk Conservancy Trust and University of Reading, UK. Dr Kishor Rithe, Interim Director, Bombay Natural History Society. Dr Andrea Santangeli, Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies, Spain. Dr Percy Avari, Mumbai Vetinarary...

They look like… 'sabre-toothed sausages', they can barely see, they live for a really long time and have a queen who oppresses them. Find out all about the Naked Mole-rat this week and let us know your weirdest animal on earth suggestions at [email protected]. Featuring: Dr Alison Barker, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research. Adjunct Professor Rochelle Buffenstein, University of Illinois at Chicago. Extra information: Professor Gary R. Lewin, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular...

He loved gold, so he robbed stagecoaches in South Australia and used an ostrich as a getaway car. OR DID HE?! This episode was first published on the 11th of February 2023. Featuring: Denice Mason, teacher and Meningie resident. Associate Professor Rohan Clarke, Monash University and co-author of the Australian Bird Guide. Jacob Fiebig, Meningie resident and composer of "The ballad of John Peggotty". Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer. Petria Ladgrove,...

For thousands of years eels have made people rich and powerful, literally. Now it's time to pay it back. This episode was originally published on the 18th of March 2023. Featuring: Dr. John Wyatt Greenlee, Historian Cornell University. Erin Rose, Budj Bim World Heritage Executive Officer at Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation. Braydon Saunders, Tour Guide Coordinator at Budj Bim Cultural Landscape Tourism. Tyson Lovett-Murray, Budj Bim World Heritage Ranger at...