The fear of being eaten by an animal is so visceral that a mass psychosis, featuring a monkey man, once swept across Delhi.

But in the event of an actual attack, investigators look for specific forensic clues to identify which predator was responsible.

Was the perpetrator human or animal? Or in one infamous case in the US, was it human … or owl?

Featuring:

• Phoebe Judge, host of the podcast Criminal
• Euan Ritchie, Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at Deakin University
• Mary Roach, author of Animal Vegetable Criminal
• Professor Sindhu Radhakrishna, National Institute of Advanced studies in Bengaluru, India

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 ABC Listen (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.

Leonardo da Pinchy is a literal cat burglar with more than 350 pieces of evidence against him — evidence that's easy to confirm because when he steals his neighbour's underwear, he brings it home with a satisfied look of great pride.

Steven Seagull is banned from the local corner store after a six-year beef-flavoured-chip-thieving spree.

Then there are the monkeys holding phones hostage for fruit juice.

These aren't the only creatures with a criminal record — far from it

So when animals steal, what is driving their behaviour?

Featuring:

• Dr Neeltje Boogert, associate professor in animal behaviour at the University of Exeter
• Helen North and Leonardo da Pinchy
• Julia Henning, PhD candidate at the University of Adelaide
• Professor Sindhu Radhakrishna, National Institute of Advanced studies in Bengaluru, India

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 ABC Listen (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.

Pigs tried for murder, weevils expelled from heaven and how a bloke dressed as an executed French monkey became mayor of an English town.

Topsy the elephant travelled the US performing for cheering circus-goers, but when her drunken trainer rode her into town wreaking havoc, was that her poor decision-making … or his?

Content warning: This program contains stories where animals are punished as if they are criminals. Some listeners may find this confronting.

Featuring:

• Professor Katy Barnett, Melbourne Law School at the University of Melbourne, and co-author of Guilty Pigs
• Dr Michelle Granden, psychologist
• Stuart Drummond, former Mayor of Hartlepool UK

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 ABC Listen (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.

Dr Ann Jones is bringing true crime and natural history together with Nature's Most Wanted, a new series from What the Duck!? investigating when animals get on the wrong side of the law.

From cats stealing underwear to roosters accused of witchcraft; human-eaters to parrots with opioid addiction; this series promises to get to the bottom of why animals turn to crime.

Dr Ann Jones examines the history of animals on trial in human courts, the responsibilities humans take when an animal goes rogue, and ultimately how we think of animals and ourselves.

Hear the evidence of episode one on Friday, March 20.

What the Duck?! is recorded and produced on the lands of the Kulin Nation.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (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.

Join What the Duck?! at a science comedy debate called Sci Fight.

Sci Fight brings scientists and comedians together to examine serious topics in a silly way.

The topic up for debate is that nature doesn't care where an animal is from.

Featuring:

• Alanta Colley, science communicator, host and founder of Sci Fight

Affirmative:

• Aaron Agostini, biologist and researcher at the University of Melbourne
• Rose Bishop, stand-up comedian and writer
• Lukian Adams, aquatic ecologist and PhD student at the University of Melbourne

Negative:

• Trish Koh, fish ecologist at the University of Melbourne
• Rowan Thambar, stand-up comedian and writer
• Adam McKenzie, actor, writer, and comedian

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Hamish Camilleri, Sound Engineer
• With thanks to Richard Girvan and Luke Woollett

This episode of What the Duck?! was recorded and produced on the land of the Kulin Nation.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (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.

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 originally broadcast in 2024 produced on the land of the Wadawarrung, Wurundjeri and Kaurna people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (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.

Bush rats are not black rats — that's the first thing you need to know.

Ann Jones is joined by ABC Top 5 scientist Dr Patrick Finnerty to understand why researchers are going around sniffing bush rats — and how it might help reintroduce them to Sydney's nature reserves.

Find out more about the Top 5 science media residency here.

Featuring:

• Dr Patrick Finnerty, conservation ecologist at the University of Sydney
• Professor Peter Banks, conservation ecologist at the University of Sydney
• Associate Professor Thomas Newsome, conservation ecologist at the University of Sydney
• Mareshell Wauchope, PhD student at 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 Eora and Kulin Nations.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (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.

Marion Anstis pursued her love of tadpoles and frogs on afternoons and weekends, writing papers for scientific journals despite not studying zoology at university.

When she retired from her job as a music teacher, she finally had the time to pack her campervan and travel the country, chasing wet seasons and documenting the frogs she found.

The result of that fastidious research venture is her PhD and the froggy bible, Tadpoles and Frogs of Australia.

In 2022 her contribution to the field was recognised with the genus Anstisia named after her, a group of frogs that lay their eggs on the ground.

Featuring:

• Dr Marion Anstis, herpetologist 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 ABC Listen (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.

From the rolling hills of country Ireland to rolling waves beneath her boat docked in Hobart, Dr Diane Purcell has explored the most extreme places algae survive.

She's also explored the prospect of its survival away from Earth when she worked at NASA studying extremophiles.

Some of Diane's earliest research was looking at algae behaviour when it's kind of sleep deprived, and algae that will eat so much it will literally explode!

She's also dealt with the ebb and flow of research work by moving to Darwin and working as a high school science teacher.

Featuring:

• Dr Diane Purcell, Project Manager of the Remediation Section, Science and Technical Branch, at the Environment Protection Authority

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 ABC Listen (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.

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 ABC Listen (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.