'You Bloody Fool': New Study Reveals Ducks Can Imitate Human Speech

September 7, 2021

A new study has revealed that musk ducks can imitate sounds including human speech.

The duck, named Ripper, has been recorded saying "you bloody fool", which is thought to be one of his caretakers' catchphrases.

Retired Australian researcher Dr Peter Fullagar first recorded Ripper more than three decades ago. But his recordings only recently surfaced after they were discovered by Prof Carel ten Cate of Leiden University in the Netherlands.

Though the recording sounds like "you bloody fool", Ten Cate said it was possible Ripper was saying "food".

"I can imagine that the caretaker would jokingly say, 'Okay, here is your bloody food'," he said.

Listen to the recording below.