A brooding expression, rippling muscles, a lingering gaze ... and, er, a habit of beating his chest.

Dog owners around the world are signing up to Tindog, a new smartphone app that allows canine lovers to organise playdates for their pet pooches.

Unlike husbands, canines aren't moody and depressingly downbeat; unlike wives, they don't want to change you. No wonder we put them first, says Judith Woods.

Ngapuhi chairman Sonny Tau has admitted to being caught in possession of dead kereru and says he deeply regrets his mistake.

Kiwi kids have flooded an Auckland environmentalist's mailbox with droves of paper monarch butterflies.

The New Zealand sea lion - one of the rarest sea lion species in the world – has been listed as "endangered” by an international conservation body.

A daredevil cat learned what it was like to fly after taking a ride on the wing of an ultra-light aircraft.

Auckland Zoo's new heavyweight Anjalee has been gallivanting around her paddock today to celebrate her first morning in New Zealand.

Auckland Zoo's newest addition, Anjalee the Asian elephant, has spent her first night in New Zealand after she was flown, trucked and craned in to Western Springs.

A globetrotting cat managed to make its way from Australia to London and then Northern Ireland – a trip of almost 11,000 miles.

Trotting out to West Auckland for a day of equestrian events, Elisabeth Easther discovered the charms of Woodhill Sands Equestrian Centre.

They were known as the Spade Brigade: thousands of volunteers, from different walks of life, armed with garden tools. Together, they transformed Tiritiri Matangi from a virtually birdless, treeless island to a world-renowned forest sanctuary.

If you've ever wondered what your pets get up to when you're not home, a new animated movie has some theories.

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.

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.

Are cats secretly laughing at us? Is all that purring, licking and being available for stroking just an elaborate ruse for food and a warm place to sleep?

The incredible travels of a hefty great white shark named Pip are helping scientists rewrite the book on everything we thought we knew about the feared species.

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.