An animal welfare group is offering a reward in a bid to track down and prosecute a pet owner who callously threw a dog off a bridge into the Wairoa River.

A study led by the Zoological Society of London has pinpointed an unlikely saviour for the stitchbird species - nest-hopping Casanovas.

They washed in by the thousands: tiny red crabs covering the Orange County shoreline much further north than their typical home.

With digital pet therapy in mind, we have compiled our ten favourite cat videos - and as research suggests, there's no need for you to feel bad about it.

Matilda the 'Alien Cat' is causing a stir on the internet, with thousands of followers falling for her unusual massive glassy eyes.

"Internet users spend a significant amount of time consuming cat-related media, some of that while they are supposed to be doing other tasks like working."

Household pets can host a number of organisms that cause parasitic, bacterial, fungal and viral diseases in humans.

A stroppy little penguin was glad to waddle back to his home among the shoreline rocks at Mt Maunganui this morning.

New Zealand's top fashion designers have donated exclusive items to help the Herald's Viva magazine raise money for animals in need.

Frankie, Freddy or Fifi? Or maybe something more home-grown like Frodo or Fauna?

Another seal has shown up Auckland — this time in Campbells Bay on the North Shore.

Chimpanzees have the same types of smiles as humans when laughing and do not even need to make a sound to be understood, according to a new study.

Mike and Gill Godfrey never planned to breed cats but 15 years on from buying their first ragdoll they have almost 90 strutting around their Te Puna property.

Researchers have found seven new species of the miniature frog genus Brachycephalus on seven different mountains in the Atlantic rainforest of Brazil.

Walking about Auckland's streets holding up a rather large antenna, Alice Baranyovits isn't surprised some bemused onlookers have asked if she's searching for aliens.

Dancing, singing, and, er, peeing on yourself - it's all part of the playbook if you're a native short-tailed bat looking to get lucky with the ladies.

A spider claimed to be the world's deadliest is feared to be on the loose in Britain after a family spotted a nest in a bunch of bananas.

The fifth seal in two weeks has come to shore in South Auckland - this time in Manurewa. Earlier this afternoon a seal had been spotted in Wattle Downs, Manurewa. That seal has since been returned to its natural habitat by the Department of Conservation.

A yellow-eyed penguin thought to have had a nasty encounter with a barracuda is today on its way back home.

A woman has been banned from owning animals for ten years after a horse starved to death.

The camera of an American woman mauled to death by a lion in South Africa has been taken by police investigating what prompted the big cat to pounce.

They have already shown that they enjoy tea parties, so it should perhaps come as no surprise they are also intelligent enough to understand cooking.

Kiwi cat lovers rejoice - the country's first cat cafe could open within the next two months.

The festival committee had been preparing for Pentecost Sunday for months, and at last it had come.

Brent Gallagher thought he was a goner as he lay on the ground with serious injuries and a raging bull called Pistol Whip bearing down on him.

St John and SPCA run a therapy session at Northbridge Rest Home hospital wing.

Sometimes you just need someone to listen - even if that someone is a ball of fluff that hits snooze for two thirds of its life.

It is not the infamous seal that took over a car wash in the area earlier this week... this time, it's a baby!

A Wellington Zoo staff member has travelled to Colombia to help a local conservation group care for endangered primates.

Benny tries to look innocent but his scruffy mug says a thousand words.