From glitter paintings to yarn bombing, Danielle Wright rounds up what's on offer for crafty kids over the holidays.

Eggs laid by toxic sea slugs are the likely cause of seizures suffered by dogs walking on Auckland beaches, a marine ecologist says.

The quiet settlement of Maketu has been rocked by a one-in-10,000 occurrence - a hen changing into a rooster.

The stench of rotting elephant carcasses hangs in the air in western Zimbabwe, where wildlife officials say at least 91 elephants were poisoned with cyanide by poachers who hack off the tusks for the lucrative illegal ivory market.

The owner of two rottweilers that allegedly mauled an 8-year-old Christchurch boy has been charged by police.

In a mist-shrouded patch of native forest in the Mamaku Ranges near Rotorua, one eco-minded tourism venture is trying to create a slice of the predator-free dream.

British PM David Cameron's office has denied that his family has no love for Larry, the 10 Downing St cat.

The container ship grounding on Oct 5, 2011 that became our worst maritime environmental disaster will be commemorated with a sculpture depicting some of its tiniest victims.

The canine heroes and victims of Christchurch’s earthquakes are immortalised in a new book by Laura Sessions and Craig Bullock.

Two dairy farmers, a stock agent and a trucking company have been prosecuted for putting 25 cows through a hellish trip to the slaughterhouse.

A Waikato farmer has been left counting the cost of Saturday night's wild electrical storm after finding nine cows killed by lightning.

Pop star Rihanna spent a weekend at the beach in Thailand, leaving behind a trail of racy tweets and an incriminating Instagram photograph.

A healthy family pet has been accidentally put down after going to the SPCA for desexing.

A killer elephant remains alone at a closed zoo where the owners are refusing offers of help.

Persistent prompting by an Auckland scientist has persuaded the shipping industry to rearrange its schedules, for a whale.

Shipping companies have agreed to slow down and alter course in the Hauraki Gulf in an effort to save an endangered resident whale.

In an emotion-charged ceremony, Rochelle Constantine was one of three inaugural recipients of the Holdaway Awards at the Hauraki Gulf Forum's annual seminar this month.

Pamela Wade reminds us what to do when an illegal hitch-hiker comes home with us from an overseas trip.