What The Duck?!

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 relea

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 w

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

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

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, Univer

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, Dav

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 Dul

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

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, P

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. Associa