What The Duck?!
What The Duck?!
ABC Australia
How a rat's smelly towel might be key to rewilding
25 minutes Posted Feb 27, 2026 at 5:30 am.
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Show notes
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.