Auckland Zoo hope that the release of hundreds of captive-bred young Wetapunga (Giant Weta) on Otata Island in the Hauraki Gulf will help the health of the islands forests.

Organisers of a nationwide survey are urging people to keep a sharp eye out for feathered visitors to their back gardens.

A new detective has arrived. He is an altogether different species of investigator.

Whangarei mechanic Michael Smith's job title usually doesn't include rescuing cats - but today was a different story.

Chameleon spit is 400 times more viscous than our saliva.

When Trina Hibberd woke up Monday morning, she found herself in a living nightmare after discovering a five-metre python draped around her living room.

An Amazon jaguar has been shot dead by the Brazilian army after participating as a 'mascot' for an Olympic torch ceremony.

The justice meted out to animal attackers varies by jurisdiction and species. But the default is to err on the side of human safety.

A New Zealand man’s been stabbed while walking along a beach in Thailand. Sushi has returned home after being missing for eight years, the moggy’s owner is over joyed.

A little blue penguin found lethargic and emaciated at Moa Pt in Wellington has been returned to the wild after Wellington Zoo staff nursed it back to health.

Jennifer Layton was disqualified by the council of owning a dog for five years from October 2013, but after a third appeal that time has been halved.

Shocking footage has emerged of a shark being dragged out of the water so a group of tourists could take photographs with it.

The woman who was attacked by a bear suffered several bites and scratches and had injuries to her head, neck and upper body.

The male elephant, nicknamed Pretty Boy, is believed to be about 25 and is the latest casualty of poachers supplying the ivory trade.

It's not just humans who battle weight issues - our dogs, cats and other pets all run the risk of obesity too.

Research has long shown that animals suffer psychological damage in captivity, yet we've always found a way to justify confining them to tanks and cages.

The woman discovered the animal on her 5-year-old son in their Colorado back yard.

It's morning in the Murchison, a desolate, sunbaked corner of the midwest of Western Australia, and a trio of wedge-tailed eagles are circling.

A family got a little closer to nature than they bargained for when a bear opened their car door at Yellowstone National Park.

A Chinese village is overrun with monkeys after a plan to increase tourism in the area spectacularly backfired.

The body of toddler snatched by alligator at Disney resort has been found, says a source close to the investigation.

Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings says some 50 people are now "working on recovering the body" of a 2-year-old boy snatched by an alligator at Walt Disney World.

This image of Diggy the dog went viral. Then his owner was visited by police and told if he didn't get rid of Diggy, he could be put down.

There were plenty of high-pitched squeals from Auckland zoo-goers as two cute new-born capybaras drew crowds.

Kiwi pop star Jamie McDell has written a song to bring to people's attention that only 55 of the protected species remain.

Auckland firefighters rushed to Pt Chevalier to rescue a 6-month-old guide dog puppy from a drain.

Woman shares security footage of boy sneaking into her garage every day to cuddle her dog ... and then finds out the boy's own dog died from old age last year.

People have been trying to understand how living things know where they're going for more than 100 years.

Emergency Services have successfully rescued a horse trapped by dangerously rising floodwaters in the Otaki River.