Timaru has a tall order coming its way - as Auckland Zoo's two-year-old giraffe Shira begins a three-day sea voyage south this morning.

Cat pictures are funny and harmless - but there's a sinister undercurrent and a serious point to be made.

A request by authorities has sparked a humorous response from Belgian citizens.

A child at Wellington zoo managed to put their hand through fencing mesh and pat one of the cheetahs. The child was unhurt.

Grant Bradley goes on a late summer training ride with huskies high above the Arctic Circle.

A common pesticide could hinder bumblebees' ability to pollinate plants, says a new study - and that could be a big problem for both agriculture and the natural ecosystems that depend on the bees for....

Cat owners in Germany may soon have to keep their pets on a leash, under new government proposals.

Michelle Olbricht assumed her cats Ash and Ellie were home bodies, with little appetite for exploring the world but boy was she wrong.

The death of police dog Diesel in the Paris raids has inspired hundreds of tributes from pets around the world - with a little help from their owners.

Trying to identify which deerstalkers fired the fatal shots and dragging them off for a show trial is hardly the point, writes Brian Rudman. DoC was entrusted with the safety of the critically endangered birds, and it was DoC who invited the shooters in.

Tui are renowned for their repertoire of songs yet we're only just beginning to find out how urban environments are influencing their singing.

There's no mistaking that the Herald has come to the right house in Blockhouse Bay to meet Madam Butterfly, Jacqui Knight.

Four Kiwi fishermen have been singled out for their efforts to stop seabirds being killed as bycatch while out on the water.

Conservationists were left to hedge their bets when it came to saving a critical population of one of New Zealand's most endangered bird species.

Forest and Bird are warning a "pest plague" is on the cards next winter and spring.

A major 1080 poison offensive succeeded in wiping out 95 per cent of rats and 85 per cent of stoats in targeted forests around the country.

A 33-year-old chimpanzee at Wellington Zoo has had surgery to prevent her from putting sticks and pieces of straw into her ear.

Research suggests our cheeky kea may not be such a bird-brain after all.

Three of Auckland Zoo's orang-utans are being moved to new American homes to help with the international breeding programme for the endangered great ape.

The saga of a series of "Monkey Selfies" snapped four years ago in the Indonesian wilderness seems to never end.

A tiny cat has been rescued and his survival documented on Facebook.

More than 2500 charges have been laid against dog owners in the past five years - though a pet safety expert believes many more cases never go to court.

Any dolphin or whale stranding experienced live is deeply moving; particularly when you end up accompanying an individual to the end of its life.

Starving black bears from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park have been creeping into nearby residential neighbourhoods and tourist areas.

A group of cage divers got a closer encounter with a great white shark than they were expecting.

A breakthrough by researchers has revealed amazing new insights into the patterns of southern right whales, which could aid efforts to preserve the endangered ocean giants.

A 6-year-old boy is recovering in hospital with facial injuries after being bitten in the face by a dog.

A family of orcas entertained hundreds of onlookers when they visited the Viaduct Harbour in downtown Auckland today.

The seal enjoys a brief moment of elegant beauty as a whale lifts him majestically into the air.

TradeMe has removed an auction for a prized bulldog because the owner said he would only consider selling to a white person.