They're now more than 4 months old but three Nepalese panda cubs at Hamilton Zoo are still without names.

Thousands of birds perished in the black tide that followed the MV Rena's grounding. A year and a half on, we check on the recovery of the disaster's forgotten victims.

Larger than normal rats - some the size of kittens - are being reported following a long dry spell that has caused a population boom.

Nakuru the giraffe spent nearly six days in a box as she crossed the Tasman by sea to find her new home in Melbourne.

Christchurch's Orana Wildlife Park has welcomed two new South African girls. The arrival of two-year-old Lusi and three-year-old Kiana take the park's cheetah population to 13.

A three-metre tall giraffe bound for Australia from New Zealand has been caught up in the search for a solo sailor in rough seas off Victoria's far east coast.

For a group of young people on a night out in Napier last weekend a 14-week-old kitten was the perfect target for violence.

It has been 50 years since Northland brown kiwi could be heard foraging on the forest floor of the Brynderwyn Hills, crying to one another at dusk and dawn.

Franklin Zoo keeper Helen Schofield failed to follow her own safety guidelines on the day she was killed by an elephant in its enclosure, a coroner has found.

A man has been kicked by a calf while trying to help it and the blow sent a 55-year-old man tumbling 10 metres down a bank.

In June last year, Maxwel Johnson beat his one-year-old dog so severely the dog lost an eye, several teeth, and suffered a broken jaw.

The man who allegedly throttled a police dog while on the run will face trial at the High Court.

New Zealand's endangered Hector's dolphin population could recover if protection measures were extended to 100m deep throughout its habitat, according to a new University of Otago review.

A puppy rescued by a Whangarei SPCA worker is now saving lives by sniffing out explosives in some of the world's war-torn danger spots.

A new New Zealand lost pet service is looking to tap into the power of social media.