What The Duck?‪!‬ ABC listen

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 -  
Ray Miller, relative died after being bitten by a dead snake. 
Dr Christina Zdenek, Australian Reptile Academy. 
Professor Kylie Pitt, Griffith University.  
Dr Olaf Meynecke,  Griffith University.  
Len Zell, retired marine scientist and author of Australian Wildlife – Roadkill.

Production:
Belinda Smith, ABC Science Reporter/Producer. 
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, 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:
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 mastering:  Roi Huberman.

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.

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 mastering: Carey Dell

This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Kaurna people. It was originally broadcast in July 2023. 

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: Carey Dell

This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Kaurna people.