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Rick LeCouteur
Inviting young readers to marvel at the wonder of nature's creatures
Rick's Blog
#bunyipsbooksbeyond
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The Littered Path: The moral weight of a floss pick (#406)
Every morning on my walk, I pick up trash. Not out of compulsion, but out of quiet disbelief. The worst offenders, and the most...
Rick LeCouteur
Oct 5, 20253 min read
In Memoriam: Jane Goodall 1934-2025 (#405)
This week, the world lost one of its most luminous champions for wildlife, nature, and hope. Dr. Jane Goodall, pioneering primatologist,...
Rick LeCouteur
Oct 3, 20253 min read
Carl Sagan - Part 3: The future of humanity & the pale blue dot (#404)
I wrote this third part of this series because Carl Sagan’s legacy isn’t only about the tools of skepticism or the politics of science....
Rick LeCouteur
Oct 1, 20253 min read
Carl Sagan - Part 2: Science, politics, and leadership in the age of misinformation (#403)
Carl Sagan never lived to see the current presidency, but his writings anticipated many of the tensions that have arisen during 2025....
Rick LeCouteur
Oct 1, 20253 min read
Carl Sagan - Part 1: Wonder, skepticism, & baloney detection (#402)
Carl Sagan continues to matter. In an age when misinformation and pseudoscience can spread faster than truth, his voice reminds us of the...
Rick LeCouteur
Oct 1, 20254 min read
A Floating Intrusion: When a ship becomes an eyesore (#401)
Sydney Harbour has long been defined by two icons. The curve of the Opera House sails and the steel arc of the Harbour Bridge. These are...
Rick LeCouteur
Sep 10, 20252 min read
Words for a Best Friend: When memory fades, love remains (#400)
Alzheimer’s disease is more than a medical diagnosis. It is a thief, silent and merciless, that robs people not only of memory but of...
Rick LeCouteur
Sep 5, 20252 min read
Go Where You’re Scared: Permission to be new again (#399)
When painter Alex Katz was asked, late in a career most artists would envy, if he still worries about new work failing, he laughed and...
Rick LeCouteur
Aug 31, 20253 min read
The Exam Room Reset: Cole in the middle (#398)
On that morning in 1996, the exam room at the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital was already full before the black Labrador...
Rick LeCouteur
Aug 26, 20254 min read
The Hummingbird Feather: A message and a memory (#397)
Today I found a hummingbird feather while sweeping in the garden. I almost missed it. It was so small. Then I noticed the iridescent...
Rick LeCouteur
Aug 23, 20253 min read
Corporatizing Vet Care (Part 1): Oligopoly or Opportunity? (#396)
This is Part 1 of a series of blog posts regarding corporatization’s near-term shocks and long-term stakes. Corporatization isn’t...
Rick LeCouteur
Aug 21, 20253 min read
The Day the Mice Went Dark: The NCI Mouse Repository shuts down (#395)
The NCI Mouse Repository is gone. Here's what we lose and what should happen next. On July 1, 2025, the National Cancer I nstitute (NCI)...
Rick LeCouteur
Aug 18, 20254 min read
An Opinion on Vet Care Through 2035: Specialists, corporates & costs (#394)
TL;DR (Too long; didn’t read) From 2026-2035 specialty care will keep expanding, corporate ownership will remain influential (and more...
Rick LeCouteur
Aug 18, 20254 min read
Dopamine Demystified: Movement, motivation, meaning (#393)
If you’ve heard that dopamine is the brain’s feel-good molecule , you’ve only got the movie trailer, not the full film. Dopamine is less...
Rick LeCouteur
Aug 17, 20253 min read
Teaching Vet Med Like It’s 2025: Why 2010's methods don’t belong (#392)
Vet school lectures are seldom attended by Gen Zers, who prefer to learn via digital platforms in their own time Fifteen years ago, I...
Rick LeCouteur
Aug 16, 20253 min read
From Data to Wisdom: A veterinarian’s guide to smarter decisions (#391)
Modern tools and timeless judgment shape better patient care. In veterinary medicine, clinical decision-making is rarely about a single...
Rick LeCouteur
Aug 13, 20254 min read
Street Photography: Presence, permission, and the unscripted moment (#390)
Street photography is the making of unstaged photographs of everyday life in public spaces , using observation and timing to reveal a...
Rick LeCouteur
Aug 12, 20252 min read
Contextualized Veterinary Care: Matching medicine to context (#389)
Conceptual diagram of the complex iterative processes involved in practicing contextualized care, acknowledging the involvement of...
Rick LeCouteur
Aug 11, 20254 min read
When Veterinary Teams Fracture: Mistreated allies become foes (#388)
In veterinary medicine, as in all professions, the strength of a leader is measured not by the title on the door or the number of...
Rick LeCouteur
Aug 10, 20253 min read
Mr. Tom Puss: The ship’s cat of the First Fleet (#387)
In 1787–88 the First Fleet , eleven ships under Captain Arthur Phillip (two naval escorts, six convict transports, and three store...
Rick LeCouteur
Aug 9, 20254 min read
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