Stay ConnectedAustralia is full of weird plants and animals. And Dr Ann Jones is on speaking terms with most of them!
Each week Ann explores the most unusual elements of our natural world — the ones that make you go What the Duck?! Like why do quolls have spots? Who farts (and who doesn’t)? And how do snakes climb trees?
Join Ann alongside experts and ordinary Aussies alike to solve mysteries, smash myths and uncover the bizarre truth about nature down under.
Copyright: © Copyright 2024, Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All right reserved.
Ripper the musk duck had many bad habits – chief among them was attacking the keepers and then swearing under his breath.
But was Ripper really angry, or was his potty mouth a symptom of something much more sinister?
FEATURING:
Peter Fullagar, wildlife sound recordist and retired CSIRO Scientist.
Nick Hayward, Film maker, The Message of the Lyrebird.
Daryl Snowdon, Duck Shooter.
Lisa Sperber, Ballarat Bird World parrot whisperer.
Victoria Austin, University of Western Sydney..
Carel Ten Cate, Institute of Biology Leiden.
EXTRA SOUND RECORDINGS:Ripper the Duck and others, Peter Fullagar via the Australian National Wildlife Collection at the CSIRO, files X49184 and X49185.
Brolgas grunting by Henry Cook.
Echo the Lyrebird imitating a (human) baby, courtesy of Taronga Zoo.
Regent Honeyeaters in the wild by Ross Crates, ANU.
Production:
This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Kaurna people.
It was first published on the 29th of Jan 2022.
It's the early 20th century, a government scientist position was determined by a boxing match, and a tomato virus threatened to stop the development of Australian-style tomato sauce in its tracks.
Luckily, apart from their prowess as fighters, Australian plant scientists were leaders in identifying and controlling plant illnesses.
They wouldn't do it without some drama though, and in this very special podcast extra, Ann Jones traces some of the turbulent history of tomato virus research down under.
Featuring:
Production:
This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Kaurna people.
Plants are fully sick right now - and not just because indoor plants are in fashion.
They have an immune system, they get infections, and can catch viruses... they just can't move away from their sick neighbours.
While we depend on white blood cells to fight off and remember pathogens, plants rely on inherited knowledge of past threats in their DNA, plus the effective altruism of individual cells to sacrifice themselves rather than damage the whole.
Featuring:
Production:
This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Kaurna people.
It seems absolutely bonkers that an animal can muster ELECTRICITY, especially enough to send out a zap like a taser.
But that's exactly what electric eels can do, and the world record holder more than doubles the voltage of the Australian electricity supply.
More than that, electric eels inspired the design of Volta's first batteries, but (hold onto your socks so they don't get blown off) they're not the only ones who've got electricity pumping through their bodies.
Featuring:
Production:
This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Kaurna people.
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 that. Flaco not only learned to live, he seemed to thrive.
He turned up on fire escapes and windowsills, and was photographed around Manhattan like a coked-up socialite with wide eyes and fabulous ear tufts.
But, how long could Flaco possibly last in the graveyard of bird diversity that is the city? How long could he fly without confusing a window for the sky?
Featuring:
Production:
This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Kaurna people.
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:
Production:
This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Kaurna people.
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 snake!
So if a snake could commit multiple murders from beyond the grave, what other animals are going to get you?
Featuring -
Production:
This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung, Wurundjeri and Kaurna people.
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 Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Dr Shauni Omond, @shauniomond.sleepsci on Instagram, La Trobe University.Professor Niels Rattenborg, Research leader on Avian Sleep, Max Planck Institute.
Production:
Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.Petria Ladgrove, Producer.Additional mastering: Hamish Camilleri.
This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Kaurna people and was originally broadcast in July 2023.
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:
Production:
This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Kaurna people and was originally broadcast in July 2023.
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: John Jacobs.
This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Kaurna people andwas originally broadcast in July 2023.
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