Nature's Most Wanted: Trunk and disorderly
From What The Duck?! by ABC Australia
April 16, 2026 · 26 min
About this episode
This episode explores the effects of alcohol on elephants and other animals, along with unusual animal behaviors.
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…
People in this episode
Guests: Dr Mareike Janiak, Dr Christine Sutton, Kate Connolly, Dr Imogen Cavadino
Topics covered
- elephants
- alcohol metabolism
- animal behavior
- pranks
- wildlife
- science
Keywords
- elephant
- intoxication
- animal behavior
- pranksters
- alcohol
- wildlife
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: University of Calgary, CERN Courier, Guardian Newspaper, NPR
Places: Wadawarrung, Taungurung
More episodes of What The Duck?!
- Sex is Weird 5: Why does it feel good, anyway? · June 5, 2026 · 26 min
- Sex is Weird 4: How to be hot according to nature · May 29, 2026 · 26 min
- Sex is Weird 3: Sexy females fight back · May 22, 2026 · 26 min
- Sex is Weird 2: Why do penises exist? · May 15, 2026 · 26 min
- Sex is Weird 1: The world's first d*ck pic · May 8, 2026 · 26 min
- Nature's Most Wanted: Can my dog inherit my house · April 30, 2026 · 26 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the What The Duck?! podcast page.