Rick LeCouteur emerged from the Sydney veterinary school in 1974 with a case of the wanderlust that so commonly afflicts young Australians. He went on to work in academia in Canada and the United States where he now lives. In April he will be in Birmingham to give a series of lectures at BSAVA Congress on his chosen specialism, neurology. But after that he could be anywhere, through his new career organizing wildlife-watching tours for his fellow vets.