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Breed: Chinchilla cat Temperament: placid and affectionate Cost: from $650 to around $850 Lifespan: 12-15 years Maintenance: high Recommended for: elderly, singles History Longhaired cats hold a special place in many cat lover’s hearts, and perhaps none more so...
There are around 700 species of birds in Australia and they figure very prominently in our natural ecology. Many of them play an important role in the pollination of native plants. Others, such as crimson rosellas (Platycercus elegans), do not. Don showed some crimson...
Don pointed out a group of Crimson rosellas feeding on the fruits of a white cedar tree. It is well known that these fruits are poisonous to humans and livestock, however the rosellas return to this particular tree every year. They eat all the fruit and never seem to...
Over the years, Burke’s Backyard veterinary consultant, Dr Rob Zammit, has been asked hundreds of questions about dogs. The good news is that he’s written all the answers down in a new book titled Dogs – 101 Answers to Commonly Asked Questions. This...
Don advised against feeding meat-eating birds such as kookaburras, currawongs and butcherbirds. They include small birds in their diets, so if you do choose to feed them and their populations build up, you may find that there aren’t many smaller birds around...
The Beautiful Firetail finch (Emblema bella) has an olive back, finely-barred underparts and a bright red rump. The males are blacker underneath than the hens, and the juveniles are duller in colour than the adults. Beautiful firetails live in coastal heathland and...
Don visited Dr Justin Marshall at the University of Queensland’s Department of Vision, Touch and Hearing. Dr Marshall and his colleagues have discovered that the ultraviolet pigments on budgerigars’ feathers play a big role in their attractiveness to...
Radiographer, Emese Gal, suffers from a rare genetic disease called Neurofibromatosis 2 (also called Central Bilateral Acoustic NF) which causes tumours to grow on both auditory nerves. Emese lost her hearing three years ago, but thanks to a stray dog and the Lions...
Don visited the Animal Eye Care Clinic in East Malvern, Victoria. He talked with specialist veterinary ophthalmologist, Dr Robin Stanley, about the incidence of hereditary eye diseases in dogs. As well as treating these diseases, the clinic performs regular eye...
Dr Terry Martin first became interested in birds at the age of 10, when given a pair of Zebra Finches. Terry’s love of birds has continued through to the present day. He is now an avian veterinarian and aviculturist, and has just published a book on colour mutations...