What The Duck?!
ABC Australia
232 episodes
Australia is full of weird plants and animals. And Dr Ann Jones is on speaking terms with most of them!
More about the show
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.
Episodes page 1 of 5
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Killer whales attack boat
Martin was sailing from the UK to Greece when a pod of orcas tried to sink his boat. Sounds like a one-off? Think again. Reports of killer whales attacking ships date back to the 6th century. So, after all these…
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Fully sick plants
Can plants get cancer? Do they get tumours? WAIT.. is that what those big knobbly bits are on trees? Dr Ann Jones pulls on her experience as a broadcaster with a brain, to find out what's going on with plants and…
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Butts. What are they good for?
Two million years ago, our ancestors had tiny ape-like butts. Then something strange happened.. our butts grew bigger. Butt, why? It turns out humans aren’t the only primates whose butt took a bizarre evolutionary…
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Flaco the owl escapes cage in Central Park Zoo
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…
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Bumblebees have BIG feelings
Mum says it’s ok to be angry. But it’s not ok to take over a whole island state. Featuring: • Andrew Barron - Comparative Neuroscientist from Macquarie University, NSW • Tim Low - Biologist and a founder of the…
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What will we eat in space?
How will we survive the cosmic void? Scientists have a superfood diet in mind, but will the smallest flowering plant on Earth REALLY save humanity? Featuring: • Jenny Mortimer - Professor of Plant Synthetic Biology…
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Tits, boobies and hooters
Why is it that bird names seem so… childishly misogynistic? Featuring: Professor Andrew Cockburn, bird watcher and word batcher, ANU Jeannie Gray, Author, Australian Bird Names: Origins and Meanings. Ian Fraser,…
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Can you speak fish?
Someone get a translator app because the fish are ready to speak. FEATURING: • Lauren Hawkins - Centre for Marine Science and Technology at Curtin University. • Dr Aaron Rice - Research Scientist at Cornell…
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Hitchhikers guide to ecology
Grabbing a lift can go from bad to worse when your uber drops you outside your evolutionary niche. FEATURING: • Dr Matt Greenlees - Sydney University. • Arthur White - NSW frog and tadpole study group. • David…
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G.O.A.T AUSTRALIAN WILDFLOWER
Does Australia have a BEST wildflower? Hang on... what even is a flower? Dr Ann Jones and Belinda Smith count down the top 10 best wildflowers as voted by YOU in a special live show, The Hour of Flower. FEATURING: •…
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Flowers are disgusting, filthy, badasses
Quackery and Catfishing. Fake news doesn’t only happen on the human internet. Welcome to nature’s dark web. We didn’t TRY to make a spooky and disturbing episode... we just wanted to talk about plants with DUCK in the…
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Wombat scratches butt on recorder, snorts, gurgles and leaves.
WTF NATURE. I give up. ||A Message from Dr Ann - the What the Duck?! host and general dork.|| I don't really give up. The recording I took for the latest season of Nature Sounds by Ann Jones was a ripper (in terms of…
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Dinosaur died. No flowers at funeral
In fact, most dinosaurs never got the chance to stop and smell a flower... and it was all because of bad timing. Sad face. The meteor that killed all the dinosaurs (rude) actually kicked off flower supremacy on planet…
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Duck on a screaming rampage wrecks Australia's 'quiet time'
It was a perfect night. But this duck had other ideas. The scene: A perfect, wonderful, windless night at a wetland. You couldn't ask for better conditions. The sun sets and the insects hum and eventually you hear a…
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Its survival relies on idiotic male wasps bonking it
This flower takes needy to a whole new level! It was almost extinct. That was, until 2015, when a woman called Julie took it upon herself to make sure we didn’t lose the species altogether, and as it happened (baby)…
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Who's your Daddy?
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. Featuring: • Dr Samantha Nixon, University of…
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Flies are probably better at picking up than you are
Flies have rhythm and choreography, could their moves make the next TikTok dance fad? Dune flies groove to their own beat in dance-circles and hoverflies use rhythmic movements in mating. Researchers found the…
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Duck, marry, avoid, friendzone
Live from the World Science Festival Brisbane What the Duck?! is playing a game and you get to decide: duck, marry, avoid, or friendzone. You'll hear about the natural world's romance, reproduction, and relationships…
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What's with the electric eel's shocking attitude?
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…
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Gay animals: same-sex science
For around 700 years scientists observed same-sex pairings in as many as 1500 different species, but didn't record or publish their findings due to public perceptions. Now research is catching up and many papers on…
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Sex is Weird 7: Do we need sex?
Sex comes at a cost, there's energy, time, risks of predators, and diseases… so do we even need it? Asexual organisms don't seem to miss the dating scene, and yet here we are putting a whole lot of energy into sex,…
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Sex is Weird 6: Virgin birth
It turns out not everyone was listening when it was written 'it takes two to tango' and some species can go it alone in their quest to reproduce. And then there's the plants that decided THREE or ONE was for them,…
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Sex is Weird 5: Why does it feel good, anyway?
What is the role of pleasure in successful reproduction? Evolution says it's mightily important: every female vertebrate has a clitoris. Snakes have two! Female pleasure has been selected for. Making sex fun and…
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Sex is Weird 4: How to be hot according to nature
Do animals fall in love at first sight? Every species has different traits that are 'attractive' — they're showing off their DIY skills making a bower, vibrating sexy fruit fly songs, puffing up a wattle, or just…
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Sex is Weird 3: Sexy females fight back
The energy required to grow, birth and raise young is intense, so it's only fair that the female body has some tricks to make sure reproducing is worth it. From cryptic choice to immune system sperm blockers, the…
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Sex is Weird 2: Why do penises exist?
When it comes to sexual organs, the penis is really 'out there.' Name another organ that can change its form AND function in a matter of seconds! There's a lot of variety in the animal kingdom; from spikes and nails…
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Sex is Weird 1: The world's first d*ck pic
When you really think about it, sex to make babies is WEIRD! You take an outie that has to get stuck inside an innie that links into a production line of eggs to assemble a perfect tiny being. It's so damn complicated!…
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Nature's Most Wanted: Can my dog inherit my house
In 2002 Gigoo became the world's wealthiest chicken when her owner left her £10 million in his will. How does a chook even open a bank account? Within legal limitations there are ways to provide your pets the…
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Nature's Most Wanted: Wild, but not free
A lost monkey in an Ikea carpark is an illegally traded pet, so does he have a legal owner? When it comes to animal ownership, courts turn to Roman-era laws to try and figure out if an animal is tame or wild. It may…
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Nature's Most Wanted: Trunk and disorderly
How much booze does it take to intoxicate an elephant? The answer isn't as much as you might expect, because not all guts are created equal when it comes to metabolising alcohol. This explains why an elephant might…
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Nature's Most Wanted: Fowl play with real-life angry birds
Forget feathered friends — these are our feathered foes. They can wield knives, get involved in the world of organised crime and drug dealing, and even shut down the Large Hadron Collider. But the most pressing…
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Nature's Most Wanted: Murder (but not crows)
The fear of being eaten by an animal is so visceral that a mass psychosis, featuring a monkey man, once swept across Delhi. But in the event of an actual attack, investigators look for specific forensic clues to…
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Nature's Most Wanted: Cat burglars and robber duckies
Leonardo da Pinchy is a literal cat burglar with more than 350 pieces of evidence against him — evidence that's easy to confirm because when he steals his neighbour's underwear, he brings it home with a satisfied look…
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Nature’s Most Wanted: Odour in the court
Pigs tried for murder, weevils expelled from heaven and how a bloke dressed as an executed French monkey became mayor of an English town. Topsy the elephant travelled the US performing for cheering circus-goers, but…
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INTRODUCING: Nature's Most Wanted
Dr Ann Jones is bringing true crime and natural history together with Nature's Most Wanted, a new series from What the Duck!? investigating when animals get on the wrong side of the law. From cats stealing underwear…
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Invasive species: a science comedy debate
Join What the Duck?! at a science comedy debate called Sci Fight. Sci Fight brings scientists and comedians together to examine serious topics in a silly way. The topic up for debate is that nature doesn't care where…
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Why snakes remain deadly even after they're dead
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…
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How a rat's smelly towel might be key to rewilding
Bush rats are not black rats — that's the first thing you need to know. Ann Jones is joined by ABC Top 5 scientist Dr Patrick Finnerty to understand why researchers are going around sniffing bush rats — and how it…
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How Marion Anstis became the tadpole whisperer
Marion Anstis pursued her love of tadpoles and frogs on afternoons and weekends, writing papers for scientific journals despite not studying zoology at university. When she retired from her job as a music teacher, she…
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Diane Purcell on how algae grows on you
From the rolling hills of country Ireland to rolling waves beneath her boat docked in Hobart, Dr Diane Purcell has explored the most extreme places algae survive. She's also explored the prospect of its survival away…
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The field guide to a birding life: Peter Menkhorst
Peter Menkhorst is the mammalogist who wrote the birding bible, The Australian Bird Guide. As a boy, Peter would go birdwatching with his dad, setting up in a hide before dawn to observe malleefowl tending their…
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Creepy crawlies across continents: why Tanya Latty loves bugs
Every superhero has their origin story, and a superhero of science is no different… From watching slater bugs and catching non-venomous snakes in her garden just outside Toronto in Canada, to harnessing lizards with…
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Ranger Stacey's totally wild life on and off TV
Nineties kids didn't dawdle on the way home from school in the afternoon. This was the age of appointment television, and that appointment was with Totally Wild. From 1992 it was beloved afternoon viewing for almost…
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Modern dogs: What have we created?
The influence of selective breeding by humans has created a doggo for every occasion, but it's not without problematic results. Some breeds have breathing difficulties, hip problems, aggression, or anxiety. There are…
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Dogs in Australia: What is a dingo?
This is the story of the domesticated animal that feralised itself. Where did dingoes come from and when? Where does a wild dog stop and a dingo begin? How much can genetics really tell us about Australia's only…
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Woofs and wags: What's your dog telling you?
Are puppy dog eyes really a sign of love, or does Fido just want a lil snack? Can dogs really "speak" by pressing talking buttons, or do they just make great content for TikTok? There's more to canine communication…
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Good dog: Survival of the friendliest
'Man's best friend' sure sounds better than 'obligatory symbiont', but what are the true dynamics at play? There's no denying the bond people feel and the attachment dogs have for their humans, but if we put that…
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Designer dogs: What is a breed anyway?
There's designer clothes, but they have nothing on designer dogs! They come in a huge range of shapes and colours and sizes, from the tiny Chihuahua to the Great Dane. In the animal world this much variation usually…
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Wolf to woof: Did we make dogs?
The relationship between humans and big scary wolves has come a long way to give us tiny fluffy lap dogs with very discerning tastes in expensive food. Whose idea was it? Was it the wolves who wanted the warmth of the…
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Is the animal kingdom ruled by tiny worms?
Nematodes are found in every environment on Earth and can survive in some seriously extreme conditions. They will come back to life after being frozen for 40 thousand years! WHAT THE DUCK?! There's so much more to…
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