White-tailed Spider Over the years white-tailed spider bites have been blamed for severe skin deterioration and ulceration in some victims. Dr Julian White believes that for most people the bite of a white-tailed spider is a very minor affair, and that a range...
Kookaburras The rollicking call of the Laughing Kookaburra is one of the most enduring sounds of the Australian bush. Most people think that the birds are happily chuckling away, but nothing could be further from the truth – their calls are really serious...
Luke’s Pet Pug Last February Luke Smale was a passenger in a car which crashed and caught fire. He was trapped, and suffered serious burns and other injuries which led to the amputation of both his legs below the knees. Luke is in the difficult recovery phase...
Mud Dauber Wasps Mud daubers are large, solitary wasps. The females collect mud and use it to construct nests or brood chambers, which can often be seen attached to buildings or under the eaves of houses. They are bottle shaped with a tunnel entrance, and look just...
Pet birds need a variety of foods for good health, and if you want your birds to breed it’s even more critical to feed them correctly. Seed, water and shellgrit are vitally important, but they don’t go far enough. There are lots of treats you can either...
Many common weeds and seeding grasses form part of the diet of wild birds, and it’s not surprising that aviary birds enjoy them too. As well as being excellent treats, fresh seeds and greens are very important for the happiness and wellbeing of breeding birds....
In the last few years there’s been a progressive and very alarming rise in the number of deaths from snake bites. Many of those deaths are associated with brown snakes. It’s thought that the reason for the increase is that snakes, and brown snakes in...
Dog Restraints The importance of wearing seatbelts when driving is widely accepted, but all too often dogs travelling inside cars are not restrained. If an accident occurs both the dogs and the passengers in the car can be seriously hurt or killed. In the same way...
Feeding Native Animals For over thirty years Geoff and Christine Smith have been looking after orphaned or injured native animals. Around 1500 kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, wombats and possums have been saved, and then released back to the bush where they were found....
In the last decade or so, there’s been a serious decline in frog populations all over the world, and in Australia alone eight species have become extinct in the last 25 years. What’s even more worrying is that scientists are not really sure why it’s...