What The Duck?!

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 mounds — and ignoring ongoing attacks from mosquitoes! His professional work ranged from surveying mammals and developing National Parks, to ecological research and managing over-abundant koalas, while also leading conservation work to protect the orange-bellied parrot, the regent honeyeater and the helmeted honeyeater. Peter still keeps a list of the birds he sees, in the hardcover notebook his grandmother gave him when he was 11. Featuring: Peter Menkhorst, zoologist and author Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer Rebecca McLaren, Producer Hamish Camilleri, Sound Engineer This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Taungurung people. Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

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 palm fronds in the Caribbean, Tanya Latty was always going to study animals. But it wasn't until an invertebrate zoology class that her "mind exploded" and her passion for entomology became clear. She went to the Rocky Mountains to study mountain pine beetles for her PhD — where she also accidentally studied bears and cougars up close. These days Tanya is based in Australia and raises awareness and understanding of invertebrates after bushfires. This is the origin story of Associate Professor Tanya Latty. Featuring: Associate Professor Tanya Latty, entomologist and insect ecologist at the University of Sydney Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer Rebecca McLaren, Producer Hamish Camilleri, Sound Engineer This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Taungurung people. Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

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 30 years, hosted with a massive smile (and a decent fringe) by Ranger Stacey. Every superhero has their origin story, and a superhero of environmental education is no different… From the Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service, to holding her own with cranky carpet-faced puppet Agro, and then hosting her own TV show for 29 years. This is the origin story of Ranger Stacey Thomson. Featuring: Ranger Stacey Thomson, environmental educator, Redland City Council Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer Rebecca McLaren, Producer Hamish Camilleri, Sound Engineer This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Taungurung people. Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

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 dogs with ADHD and others with depression. Does our longest-term relationship need couples therapy? Featuring: Dr. Annika Bremhorst, founder of Dogs and Science, and canine scientist at the University of Bern Professor Clive Wynne, animal psychologist, Arizona State University Dr. Mia Cobb, Chaser Innovation Research Fellow (Canine Welfare Science), Animal Welfare Science Centre at the University of Melbourne Professor Chris Johnson, the University of Tasmania Michael Worboys, Emeritus Professor at the University of Manchester With thanks to Paula Pérez Fraga at Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary for audio from Family pigs' and dogs' reactions to human emotional vocalizations:a citizen science study Further reading: Associations between Domestic-Dog Morphology and Behaviour Scores in the Dog Mentality Assessment Solitary working hunting dogs show a higher tendency for magnetic alignment, with decreased alignment in older dogs Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer Nat Tencic, Producer Rebecca McLaren, Producer Jacinta Bowler, Producer Petria Ladgrove, Executive Producer This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2025 and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Taungurung people. Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

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 native dog — and how long do you have to live somewhere to be 'native'? Featuring: Professor Clive Wynne, animal psychologist, Arizona State University Dr Angela Perri, zooarchaeologist, Chronicle Heritage Kelly Ann Blake, Wadawurrung woman, and Jack the Dingo Professor Greger Larson, evolutionary genomics at the University of Oxford Professor Euan Ritchie, Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at Deakin University Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer Nat Tencic, Producer Rebecca McLaren, Producer Jacinta Bowler, Producer Petria Ladgrove, Executive Producer This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2025 and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Taungurung people. Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.