How does a snake climb a pole? It's not like they have a ladder... or arms.

It turns out that snakes have some pretty crazy skills when it comes to climbing anything and everything.

The Island of Guam had between two and four million brown tree snakes in the 1980s, leading to all sorts of issues for the birds and the environment.

Guests:

Dr Aaron Collins- Assistant State Director Guam/Western Pacific Theatre at USDA-APHIS-Wildlife Services

Professor Kristin Y. Pettersen- Centre for Autonomous Marine Operations and System at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)

Stuart McKenzie - Director/Owner at The Snake Catcher Sunshine Coast

Professor Bruce C. Jayne- Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Cincinnati.

Charlie and Olivia, Board game players.

Production:

Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.

Petria Ladgrove, Producer.

Joel Werner, Script Editing.

Additional mastering:  Hamish Camilleri.

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast on the 5th of March 2022 and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and the Kaurna people. 

Would you meet a stranger in a park with a pile of snakes? 

Comedian Craig Quartermaine took the risk in an attempt to overcome his fears.

Featuring:

• Craig Quartermaine, comedian. 
• Sandy Dickinson, Urban Reptiles.
• Jonathan Wright, announcer's voice. 

Production:

• Ann Jones, presenter/producer.
• Petria Ladgrove, producer.
• Joel Werner, script editor.
• Field recording: Dylan Prins.
• Additional mastering: Angie Grant.

This episode was originally broadcast in 2023.

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

Have you heard of the Kookaburra that conquered Hollywood?

Yes- that was a kookaburra at the start of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.

But WHY?  Dr Ann Jones is on a mission to find out.

Featuring:

Ella Loeffler, Film and Bird Watcher. 

Dr Maggie Watson, Ornithologist, ecologist, fantasy fiction fan. 

Assoc Professor Cameron Webb,  Mosquito Wrangler, NSW Health and University of Sydney.

Professor John W. Fitzpatrick, Emeritus Director, Cornell Lab of Ornithology,

James Currie, Sound Recordist / Editor. 

With extra sounds from Listener: Jesse Cotteril

Movie Sounds:

The Wizard of Oz (1939) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Charlie's Angels (2000) Columbia Pictures

Tarzan and the Green Goddess (1938) Burroughs-Tarzan Enterprises

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Paramount Pictures

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) Universal Pictures/ Amblin Entertainment

Finding Nemo (2003) Pixar Animation/ Walt Disney Pictures

Lord of the Rings - Return of the Kings (2003) New Line Cinema

Mary Poppins (1964) Walt Disney Pictures

Skippy (1968) Fauna Productions

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) Warner Brothers

Production:

Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.

Petria Ladgrove, Producer.

Joel Werner, Script Editing.

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2022 and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and the Kaurna people. 

Spiders have gravity-defying ninja skills, they can hear without ears and they work together to gang up on huge prey.

Spiders are murder machines!

Featuring:

Dr Kate Umbers, Western Sydney University.

Dr Alfonso Aceves-Aparicio, University Hamburg.

Dr Jay Stafstrom, Cornell University.

Dr Lena Grinsted, University of Portsmouth.

Production:

Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.

Petria Ladgrove, Producer.

Joel Werner, Script Editor. 

Additional mastering: Angela Grant. 

This episode of What the Duck?! was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and the Kaurna people and was first broadcast on the 17th of December 2022. 

A tiny penis, a 12-hour annual fertilisation window, picky females and strawberry bubble bath – these are just a few of the issues that pop up when making a panda cub.

Featuring:

• Chad Crittle, Acting Assistant Curator for Carnivores and Ungulates at Zoos SA.
• Mr Li Zhang, Consul, Head of Bilateral Section at the Chinese Consulate-General in Adelaide.
• Dr Meghan Martin Wintle, Director, Conservation Ecologist at PDX Wildlife.

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer.
• Additional mastering:  Carey Dell.

This episode of What the Duck?! was first broadcast on April the 1st 2023 and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Kaurna people. The pandas, Wang Wang and Fu Ni, are no longer at the Adelaide Zoo. They've been replaced with new pandas, Xing Qiu and Yi Lan. 

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. 

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer.
• Additional mastering: Carey Dell

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

Jaws (1975) was a massive hit that also created a whole lot of fear, but does anything in the film really stand up to shark science? 

Do sharks stalk humans? Do they roar? What can they sense? 

There are so many misconceptions when it comes to sharks that even now, 50 years later, these are impacting shark policies in Australia, and have come to be known as 'the jaws effect.'

Featuring:

• Sophie Maycock, shark obsessive and founder of SharkSpeak. 
• Chris Pepin-Neff – Shark policy expert at the University of Sydney. 
• Jaws (1975) Universal Studios.

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer.
• Additional mastering: Isabella Tropiano

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in Nov 2024 and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and Kaurna people.

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:  Ann-Marie Debettencor.

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

Eels are mysterious and have a fascinating history. 

People in pre-medieval England used them to pay rent. Early 17th-century maps featured 'eel ships,' and even Sigmund Freud studied their breeding and reproduction habits for a whole summer.

Dr Ann Jones gets 'eely' curious about eels in today's What the Duck?!

Featuring:

Dr. John Wyatt Greenlee, Historian Cornell University. 

Erin Rose, Budj Bim World Heritage Executive Officer at Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation.

Braydon Saunders, Tour Guide Coordinator at Budj Bim Cultural Landscape Tourism.

Tyson Lovett-Murray, Budj Bim World Heritage Ranger at Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation.

Wayne Koster, Research Scientist at the Arthur Rylah Institute, Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, Victorian Government.

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer.
• Additional mastering: Timothy Jenkins.

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

When it comes to sexual organs, the penis is really ‘out there.’  Name another organ that can change its form AND function in a matter of seconds! 

There’s a lot of variety in the animal kingdom; from spikes and nails to coils and collagen – so, this appendage is worth investigating... close up.  

Sex is Weird is a new series of What the Duck?! with Dr Ann Jones following the sexual evolution of the animal kingdom.   

Please note that this program contains adult themes and explicit language. Parental guidance is recommended. It was first broadcast in August 2024. 

Featuring: 

Dr Emily Willingham, biologist, journalist and author.  

Dr Diane Kelly, Senior Research Fellow, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.  

Associate Professor Andrew Durso, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida.  

Associate Professor Patty Brennan, Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts, US. 

Dr Bruno Buzatto, Flinders University, South Australia.   

Philippa Holm, HFR Performance Horses, Victoria. 

Production:

Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.

Petria Ladgrove, Producer.

Additional mastering: Isabella Tropiano.

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