What The Duck?!

It's like a classic horror film. There are huge fangs, a segmented body, a remote location, the ocean bashing against cliffs, you're all alone and there's no one to help. The first bodies that turn up are of the children… of petrels. Featuring: Luke Halpin, PhD Researcher, Monash University Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer Petria Ladgrove, Producer Joel Werner, Script Editing This episo...

Turns out centipedes versus millipedes isn't as simple as a numbers game. But here at What the Duck?! we never skip leg day. Featuring: Dr Juanita Rodriguez, Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO. Dr Bruno Alves Buzatto, Flinders University. Luis Villazon, Science Educator UK. Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer. Petria Ladgrove, Producer. Additional mastering: Angela Grant. This ep...

Can animals create, or even enjoy music? Ann rips through the animal kingdom to check out the musical talent of some likely and unlikely performers. Featuring: Dr. Stuart Watson, University of Zurich. Dr. Chiara De Gregorio, University of Torino. Assistant Professor Adena Schachner, University of California. David Teie, Musician and composer, Music for Cats. Associate Professor Cameron Webb, Unive...

We'll 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...

Fungi are already hard at work helping trees survive drought, recycling fallen logs, rotting away carcases, and helping human digestive systems, but could they do more? Is our future made of fungi? Research has shown fungi's potential to make medicine, clothing, and cheap fire-retardant housing, but trying to isolate and harness just one species is not an easy task given they get into pretty much...

Mushrooms were once lumped in with plants, and they stayed there well after science knew better. But if a fungus is not a plant… is it a closer relative of yours than you might've thought? With millions of species on Earth, and many that live inside you, it seems important to know about the kingdom of fungi. Featuring: Tom May, senior principal research scientist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Vict...

As daily updates about the 'mushroom murders' monopolised newsfeeds around the country, the What the Duck?! team started questioning the motives.  Not the human ones — the fungi ones. Why would a mushroom need a toxin so powerful it takes just a few grams to kill a human? And where's the warning?  Nature usually throws up alerts for poison, like bright colours or spots, but the death cap is pretty...

Have you found yourself wondering why a simple brown mushroom would develop a toxin so strong that just a few grams could kill a human? What the Duck?! is investigating the motives of toxic fungi and exploring the curious world of puffballs, fly agarics, stinkhorns, and death caps. Powerful toxins are scary, but there are varieties that could help humans in medical treatment, space exploration, ma...

Cuckoo babies hatch in the nests of other bird species then quickly, often brutally, make sure they're the only baby to get fed… So how does a cuckoo know how to be a cuckoo? Well… that is a ducking good question. Featuring: Cassandra Taylor, ANU. Claire Taylor, Uni of Melbourne. Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer. Petria Ladgrove, Producer. Joel Werner, Script Editing. This episode of Wh...

There are so many sticky things in nature, but what's the nature of their stickiness? Could slug mucus or frog ooze be used in medical treatments? Ann puts on her spider-woman gloves to find out. Featuring: Ella Tyler, wife of the late Prof Mike Tyler. Prof Andrew Smith, Biology, Ithaca College. Prof George Murrell, Director Orthopaedic Research Institute, St George Hospital, NSW. Production: Ann...

If you ever wanted to be able to stick to walls like Spider-Man, then listen to this! How do geckos and ants walk easily up walls and across the ceiling? Is an insect foot sticky in the same way as a reptilian tootsie? And how does underwater stickiness compare? Just how is that barnacle attached to that boat? Featuring: Rishab Pillai, James Cook University. Dr Christofer Clemente, University of t...

This place is so extreme that NASA sends scientists to test equipment for Mars missions. And yet, Australia's salty lakes are full of life. Featuring: Bonnie Teece, Postgraduate Researcher at UNSW Angus D'Arcy Lawrie, PhD Student at Murdoch University. Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer. Petria Ladgrove, Producer. Joel Werner, Script Editing. This episode of What the Duck?! was originally...

Ann finds out that birds are not really blue. Not even bluebirds. If they're not blue, then what the duck are they? Featuring: Richard McClure, Stems Flower Market, Ballarat. Nate Byrne, ABC News Breakfast Meteorologist and science nerd. Prof Andrew Lowe, University of Adelaide. Dr Kate Umbers, University of Western Sydney. Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer. Petria Ladgrove, Producer. Jo...

Listen back to the What the Duck?! special broadcast with Dr Ann Jones and Cassie McCullagh. After 65,000 votes, Australia has spoken — the rakali has been crowned Australia's most underrated native animal! Raking in a whopping 20 per cent of the votes cast, the water rat was well out in front. Here are the results: 1.Rakali 2.Palm cockatoo 3.Giant cuttlefish 4.Dugong 5.Marsupial mole 6.Turtle fro...

They live off seagrass, and sound like a teeny bird, but can weigh in at more than 400 kilograms and will cut you with their tusks. Dugongs (Dugong dugon) were once confused for mermaids. Yanyuwa people in the Golf of Carpentaria have observed their roles in family groups and identified 16 different types of dugongs. Cast your vote for Australia's most underrated animal here. https://www.abc.net.a...

It's a bold claim, but the palm cockatoo might be the most punk-rock bird of all. The black and scarlet parrot lives in the rainforests and woodlands of Far North Queensland, as well as the Aru Islands and New Guinea. With a wingspan of 1.5 metres, the palm cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus) is an impressive bird, with a black mohawk and a powerful beak. Cast your vote for Australia's most underrate...

This little orange lizard lives with his mum and poos outside. What's not to love? The great desert skink (Liopholis kintorei) can be found in the deserts of the Northern Territory, South Australia, and Western Australia. They live in large burrows in family groups, which is extremely unusual for reptiles. Cast your vote for Australia's most underrated animal here. https://www.abc.net.au/news/scie...

What has no eyes, no ears, and is barely ever seen? It's no riddle — it's the marsupial mole! These tiny, golden creatures like to burrow through the sands in central Australia, making the two species of marsupial mole (Notoryctes) almost impossible to find. Cast your vote for Australia's most underrated animal here. https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2025-08-01/science-week-underrated-australian...

This tiny frog is pasty white, with big arms, a teeny head, and is — somehow — still absolutely adorable. The turtle frog (Myobatrachus gouldii) can be found in a small part of south-west Western Australia. They mostly live underground, and are one of only a few species of frog that burrow forwards instead of backwards. Cast your vote for Australia's most underrated animal here: https://www.abc.ne...

They can travel over land, climb walls and take down large prey. And that's all before the short-finned eel (Anguilla australis) makes it out into the ocean for their epic migration to mate. The location is so remote, scientists still don't know what happens while they're there. But then, as new baby eels, they need to swim thousands of kilometres back to the Australian mainland — and only one in...

Sure, it's a rat, but it's Australia's own cheeky little water rat! The rakali (Hydromys chrysogaster) is Australia's largest rodent, and can be found in the waterways all around Australia. Cast your vote for Australia's most underrated animal here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2025-08-01/science-week-underrated-australian-animal-vote/105582104 Featuring: Emmalie Sanders, Charles Sturt Univ...

They shoot glue, puree their enemies, and are about the size of a leaf. With 140 species of southern velvet worms (Peripatopsidae), and most of those in Australia, these tiny creatures are our home-grown invertebrate. They normally live in rainforests, under logs or leaf litter, and they like to keep it damp and dark. Cast your vote for Australia's most underrated animal here: https://www.abc.net....

The ghost bat (Macroderma gigas) is Australia's only carnivorous bat, so it's probably not a good idea to make fun of their giant ears and unique nose. They live in large colonies of up to 1500 individuals in northern Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, roosting in caves, and old abandoned mine shafts. Cast your vote for Australia's most underrated animal here: https://www.ab...

They can grow up to a metre and the world's largest cuttlefish species can also disappear in a puff of ink and mucus. The giant cuttlefish (Ascarosepion apama) is an oddball, and you can catch a glimpse of them around the whole bottom half of Australia — all the way from Brisbane to Shark Bay. Cast your vote for Australia's most underrated animal here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2025-08-0...

Move the peas over to find that Australian freezers have seals, kangaroo penises and the DNA of 'the Chanel of goats.' Featuring: Dr Natalie Warburton, Murdoch University.  Dr Jillian Garvey, La Trobe University.  Dr Nicola Rivers, Monash University. Dianne Hakof, Hospital Manger Animal Health Department Zoos SA Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer. Petria Ladgrove, Producer.  This episode...