What The Duck?!

How much booze does it take to intoxicate an elephant?
The answer isn't as much as you might expect, because not all guts are created equal when it comes to metabolising alcohol.
This explains why an elephant might be considered a lightweight and your donkey got into a fight last weekend.
But alcohol isn't the only cause of misbehaviour — so what motivated the legless serial doorbell pranksters?
Featuring:
Dr Mareike Janiak,  postdoctoral associate at the University of Calgary
Dr Christine Sutton, particle physicist and past editor of CERN Courier
Kate Connolly, Berlin correspondent for the Guardian Newspaper
Dr Imogen Cavadino, freelance malacologist
With news audio thanks to NPR
And extra sounds from bird enthusiasts:
Mike Dooher, XC355140. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/355140 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0)
Lonnie Bregman, XC373738. Accessible at  www.xeno-canto.org/373738 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0)
Mike Dooher, XC402422. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/402422 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0)
Frank Lambert, XC1031363. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/1031363 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0)
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.

Forget feathered friends — these are our feathered foes.
They can wield knives, get involved in the world of organised crime and drug dealing, and even shut down the Large Hadron Collider.
But the most pressing question is, why did the duck cross the road at speeds so high local law enforcement was on the case?
Featuring:
Dr Christine Sutton, particle physicist and past editor of CERN Courier
Mary Roach, author of Animal, Vegetable, Criminal
Dr Laura Adams, psychology instructor at Langara College
Professor Dina Siegel, criminology at Utrecht University
Dr Amber Lee, avian & exotic animal veterinarian at The Unusual Pet Vets
Sven Montgomery, Police Inspectorate, municipality of Köniz
With extra sounds from bird enthusiasts:
David m, XC116357. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/116357 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0)
David m, XC164431. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/164431 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0)
Khristos Nizamis, XC531740. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/531740 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0)
Romuald Mikusek, XC912877. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/912877 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0)
Daniel Parker, XC949456. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/949456 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0)
Ray Cooke, XC1058578. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/1058578 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0)
Production:
Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
Rebecca McLaren, Producer
Harvey O'Sullivan, 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.

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
Professor Satish Kr. Verma, Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Amrita University in Faridabad, India
With extra sounds from bird enthusiasts:
Barry Edmonston, XC1001471. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/1001471 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0)
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
With extra sounds from bird enthusiasts:
Romuald Mikusek, XC912877. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/912877 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0)
Мітла Андрій Володимирович, XC915767. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/915767 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0)
Eetu Paljakka, XC1087274. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/1087274 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0)
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.