Volunteers have gone into South Island back country looking for white-tailed deer which may have been killed by a Department of Conservation 1080 poison drop.

Skinks might not be as ''sexy'' as other endangered wildlife but giving $146,000 to support the work of a community group focusing on boosting the Otago skink population is money well spent, Conservation Minister Nick Smith says.

Scientists yesterday discovered the eyes were 35cm wide, at least 8cm bigger than the last one.

New Zealand scientists hope to discover what makes 350kg deep sea beast tick. Watch a live stream of the examination.

Fiordland crested penguin Munro is making the most of the spring sunshine.

Scientists will soon examine an intact colossal squid for the first time in six years.

A man is being hunted by police after he was filmed apparently dumping a dead puppy in a Christchurch creek.

Hotels are now offering special packages for pampered pooches, writes Sarah Marshall.

Ever wanted to meet a kiwi up close? Auckland Zoo is offering a chance to do just that with a behind-the-scenes kiwi experience.

There's been a proliferation of pre-election political panels in the run-up to this election - more than I can remember, which is a healthy sign in our democracy.

The man killed by a shark at Byron Bay in New South Wales joked with his parents during their last conversation about the risk sharks posed.

The start of a war will be commemorated this week -- one waged not on foreign battlefields, but across our own offshore islands.

British ex-pat Paul Wilcox joked with his step-father: "I always wear a wetsuit and I use a lot of sun lotion. The sun's not the problem, the sharks are.”

A man risked his life as he entered blood-drenched water to try to save a swimmer being attacked by a shark at a popular New South Wales beach.

There are oodles of adorable animals making a mark on our Instagram account, Nicky Park has picked the eight that you need to be following.

Passengers on a flight to New Zealand got a scare when a large centipede scuttled up the leg of a first class passenger.

The father of a boy seriously injured in a dog attack has been charged as a result of the incident.

In a strange twist to an already bizarre tale, the half-sister of a baby girl killed when she was snatched by dingoes in Australia has become an advocate for the very animals that took her.

Michael Wheeler cannot imagine a life of independence without Friend - he pushes open doors, picks up fallen pencils and even fetches Michael's lunch from the refrigerator for him.

Tuatahi, meaning first in Maori, hatched at Kiwi Encounter at Rainbow Springs in Rotorua, on Thursday.

If you want to experience a close encounter with a lemur, you can now skip a trip to Madagascar and go straight to Wellington Zoo.

Weighing more than seven Tyrannosaurus rex, or a modern Boeing 737, and longer than a swimming pool, a newly discovered species of dinosaur would have "feared nothing" scientists say.

Crouch, touch, paws, engage. Outspoken anti-cat campaigner Gareth Morgan will this month meet his match in the founder of America's huge no-kill movement, Rich Avanzino.

The world is a step closer to a low-emission sheep, thanks to leading work by Kiwi and US researchers.

They were meant to relocate a blackbird's nest and eggs from a central Dunedin traffic light. Instead the contractors dropped the eggs.

About 100 Southland dairy cows have died or been destroyed after contracting lead poisoning from grazing on a gun club property.