Australian Musk duck mimics human speech, caught on record saying, `you bloody fool`

A recording of an Australian muck duck saying, `you body fool!` has resurfaced adding it to the list of known animal species that mimics human speech.

In their quest to find if animals can be groomed to behave more and more like humans, researchers have stumbled upon many animal species who have indeed shown to mimic human speech. Its not just dolphins, elephants and whales but as per a recent study an Australian musk ducks can talk like a human too.

Researcher Carel ten Cate of the Netherlands' Institute of Biology Leiden of Leiden University came across the audio of the Australian musk duck named Ripper saying, "You bloody fool!" It appears to be the first comprehensively documented instance of the species being able to mimic sounds they hear.

LISTEN HEAR:

The audio was first recorded by retired Australian researcher Dr Peter Fullagar more than three decades ago. But his recordings were only recently discovered by Prof Carel ten Cate who came across an obscure reference to a talking duck in a book on bird vocalisations.

During a recent review of birds capable of vocal learning, ten Cate revealed details about this.

A male musk duck reared in captivity at Australia's Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve was recorded vocalising the sound of doors slamming shut as well as the phrase “you bloody fool”. It is believed Ripper would frequently hear that phrase probably from his caretaker.

The duck was four years old at the time of the recordings and he is said to have made his vocalisations during aggressive mating displays.

With this ducks now join other birds like songbirds, parrots and hummingbirds in documented history to imitate human speech. 

The research was published in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.