Colleen T. Downs

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Pet ferrets are not fully domesticated and often escape, establishing feral groups that breed nine times a year and damage the environment. Sebnem Coskun/Anadolu/Getty Images

Bad gift ideas: ferrets and other exotic wild mammals as pets

Ndivhuwo Shivambu, Tshwane University of Technology; Colleen T. Downs, University of KwaZulu-Natal, and Tinyiko C. Shivambu, University of South Africa

Looking for a pet? Please don’t buy a ferret. They’re not fully domesticated, often escape, and wreak havoc on the environment once they establish feral populations.
Mistletoes parasitising African locust bean trees in Amurum Forest Reserve. Abidemi Raji

Mistletoes, locust bean trees and birds work together in Nigeria’s forest ecology

Islamiat Abidemi Raji, University of KwaZulu-Natal; Adams Chaskda, University of Jos; Colleen T. Downs, University of KwaZulu-Natal, and Shiiwua Manu, University of Jos

Reforestation programmes should consider the parasitic relationship between mistletoes and their hosts and their ecological benefits for bird diversity.

Contact Colleen for

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