Off Track

By ABC listen

Society & Culture Natural Sciences Places & Travel

What's Off Track about?

Off Track, with Ann Jones, is an Australian radio show and podcast which combines the relaxing sounds of nature with awesome stories of wildlife and environmental science, all recorded in the outdoors.

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Off Track episodes:

02.07.2022
INTRODUCING — What The Duck?!
Australia is full of weird plants and animals. And Dr Ann Jones is on speaking terms with most of them! Each week Ann explores the most unusual elements of our natural world — the ones that make you go What...
01.21.2022
The end of the track
The Off Track adventure has come to an end.
01.14.2022
Antarctic blue whales and their amazing hums
The song calls of Antarctic blue whales are so deep that they're almost infrasonic - you feel them as much as you hear them.
01.07.2022
Live long, little lizard [RE-ISSUE]
After 35 years, some of the same sleepy lizards are still alive, still with the same lizard partner.
12.31.2021
The bilby, the moon and the Birriliburu Rangers
A bilby dreaming story guides a mother with a sick child to an outback town. Decades later, the child returns to repay the favour and look after the bilby.
12.24.2021
The Blythe Star sinks off Tasmania [RE-ISSUE]
While all ten crew members of the Blythe Star got out alive after she capsized, not all would survive the ordeal that followed.
12.17.2021
Growls, grunts and currawong songs [Earworms from Planet earth XIX]
This is Australia and the world, as heard by you, the listeners of Off Track.
12.10.2021
Nature tells us who we are
Nature can be sanctuary, as well as family and guide.
12.03.2021
Sounds fishy [RE-ISSUE]
Just under the surface of the ocean, a cacophony of sound awaits.
11.26.2021
Any louder and that frog will explode [Part 2 RE-ISSUE]
It's all very well recording frog sounds, but what are they trying to say?
11.19.2021
Any louder and that frog will explode [Part 1 RE-ISSUE]
Murray Littlejohn first recorded the moaning frogs of WA on a device made from a gramophone mechanism in the early 1950s.
11.12.2021
Fire, fire everywhere
How can you appreciate the ecological importance of fire, but also fight fires with all your might?
11.05.2021
Circling piranhas and a kangaroo fight [Incident Report 06]
Just when you thought it might be safe to get back out into nature, you get zapped back to reality.
10.29.2021
From Darth Vader to Mardi Gras
Can you defend yourself against a predator more than 200 times your size with a costume change?
10.22.2021
Slipping away in the South West
What's been dumped on our beaches and what's been taken away?
10.15.2021
Making every bird count
Why are the birds in our neighbourhoods changing?
10.08.2021
The lone fisher
In a tiny town called Windy, a woman seeks a life of isolation.
10.01.2021
Kukenarup: Possibilities of place
This site of huge ecological significance has a violent history.
09.24.2021
The river visitor making a splash
Melbourne's Yarra river has an unexpected inhabitant, and its bringing joy to people in the locked-down city and beyond.
09.17.2021
Spineless swimmers and crawling crustaceans
In the groundwater beneath the Nullabor, there are billions of tiny crustaceans crawling between the grains of sand.
09.10.2021
Crickets and sprickets
Meet the tiny creatures who live in the earth beneath your feet
09.03.2021
Slime in the city
Tanya Latty kept a slime mould in her desk drawer at the University. And that got her thinking – are there other slime moulds living their best urban life in Sydney?
08.27.2021
Ticked-off in Sydney
Northern Sydneysiders might not like the sound of the latest research into tick hosts in their backyards.
08.20.2021
Going home to a mice plague
When a final visit to the family farm is rudely interrupted by rodents
08.13.2021
Hunting for hoots
If you listen closely you might just hear something you've never heard before.
08.06.2021
Owl with attitude [UPDATE]
Lurking in the tall trees of our busy cities and suburbs is a powerful hunter.
07.30.2021
And your bug can sing [RE-ISSUE]
The underwater sounds in this creek near Brisbane are like an eclectic jam session.
07.23.2021
The butterfly and its goldilocks ant [RE-ISSUE]
The survival of one of the rarest butterflies in the world is entirely reliant on an ant.
07.16.2021
In honour of moths
Let's study moths so we can celebrate them properly
07.09.2021
Conserving small things on a big scale
If invertebrates make up over 90% of animals on earth, why do they receive so little conservation funding?
07.02.2021
Like a field of blue popcorn
During summer on top of Australia's highest mountain, fields of brilliant turquoise skyhoppers bloom.
06.25.2021
The BFG of the insect world
What’s built like an armoured vehicle, but is super-dooper maternal, has a career as an architect AND is an environmentalist? You’d never guess that Australia’s burrowing cockroaches are so incredibly cute and complex.
06.18.2021
Listening to the Natural World
It's World Listening Day so we are taking a journey through sounds recorded by the audience and one of Australia's most successful nature sound recordists, Andrew Skeoch.
06.11.2021
Do your friends make you smarter?
Magpies might be boosting their bird brains with friends.
06.04.2021
The real magpies of Western Australia
When our favourite black and white birds bring the drama!
05.28.2021
Sounds fishy
Just under the surface of the ocean, a cacophony of sound awaits.
05.21.2021
The point of zoos [RE-ISSUE]
At the Bronx zoo in New York, Lynne Malcolm explores its potential as an agent for conservation and public education about the natural world.
05.14.2021
Ethics, extinction and modern day zoos
With often complex and cruel histories, can we trust zoos to have animals' best interests at heart?
05.07.2021
A tiger, a tortoise and sounds of the zoo
You might have heard an elephant trumpet but have you heard one fart?
04.30.2021
Suction bogs and stealing eagles [Incident Report 05]
Just when you thought it was safe to get back out into nature, you get bitten on the eyeball and bog the car next to a crocodile infested river.
04.23.2021
A majesty peculiar to the species [RE-ISSUE]
There is something about the Wedge-tailed Eagle which grips this man in the guts.
04.16.2021
The other lyrebird and its anthems
The Albert's lyrebird has a tiny range, but an epic song repertoire.
04.09.2021
Lyrebirds: Equality now! [RE-ISSUE]
Female lyrebirds should be rock stars in their own right.
04.02.2021
Lyrebirds: Lyre, lyre, dancefloor on fire [RE-ISSUE]
Triple Blue is a superb lyrebird stud muffin.
03.26.2021
Lyrebirds: Repeat after me [RE-ISSUE]
You might think you know the story of the lyrebird. Think again.
03.19.2021
Traps, lies, and covered eyes
Lyrebird deception just got deeper.
03.12.2021
Woof-woof, boo-book [Earworms from Planet Earth XVIII]
Endangered animal sounds and scientists imitating them.
03.05.2021
Will the Aussie bush really kill you?
Venomous trees and angry snakes - just what we need.
02.26.2021
Drying without dying
Urban greening takes a tiny turn
02.19.2021
Are we 'burning in ignorance'?
In South West WA, there are concerns that prescribed burning is negatively impacting an internationally recognised biodiversity hotspot.

What's Off Track about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Off Track episodes:

INTRODUCING — What The Duck?!

The end of the track

Antarctic blue whales and their amazing hums

Live long, little lizard [RE-ISSUE]

The bilby, the moon and the Birriliburu Rangers

The Blythe Star sinks off Tasmania [RE-ISSUE]

Growls, grunts and currawong songs [Earworms from Planet earth XIX]

Nature tells us who we are

Sounds fishy [RE-ISSUE]

Any louder and that frog will explode [Part 2 RE-ISSUE]

Any louder and that frog will explode [Part 1 RE-ISSUE]

Fire, fire everywhere

Circling piranhas and a kangaroo fight [Incident Report 06]

From Darth Vader to Mardi Gras

Slipping away in the South West

Making every bird count

The lone fisher

Kukenarup: Possibilities of place

The river visitor making a splash

Spineless swimmers and crawling crustaceans

Crickets and sprickets

Slime in the city

Ticked-off in Sydney

Going home to a mice plague

Hunting for hoots

Owl with attitude [UPDATE]

And your bug can sing [RE-ISSUE]

The butterfly and its goldilocks ant [RE-ISSUE]

In honour of moths

Conserving small things on a big scale

Like a field of blue popcorn

The BFG of the insect world

Listening to the Natural World

Do your friends make you smarter?

The real magpies of Western Australia

Sounds fishy

The point of zoos [RE-ISSUE]

Ethics, extinction and modern day zoos

A tiger, a tortoise and sounds of the zoo

Suction bogs and stealing eagles [Incident Report 05]

A majesty peculiar to the species [RE-ISSUE]

The other lyrebird and its anthems

Lyrebirds: Equality now! [RE-ISSUE]

Lyrebirds: Lyre, lyre, dancefloor on fire [RE-ISSUE]

Lyrebirds: Repeat after me [RE-ISSUE]

Traps, lies, and covered eyes

Woof-woof, boo-book [Earworms from Planet Earth XVIII]

Will the Aussie bush really kill you?

Drying without dying

Are we 'burning in ignorance'?