Children at a South Auckland hospital enjoyed a morning of pet therapy, spending time with cuddly new friends.

What were these kiwi up to one sunny Stewart Island day? We're not exactly sure. One thing we do know - they're out past bedtime.

Caged Chicken Farms - and Auckland's skyline.

WATCH: They don't look like much, but these tiny trap-jaw spiders found only in NZ and southern South America are the Beauden Barretts of the arachnid world.

Bottlenose dolphins could disappear from the Bay of Islands if nothing is done to halt a decline apparently caused by too much interaction, a report warns.

There was too much sun, swimming, eating and zooming about in Jaguars and private helicopters, but Instagram diva Toast the dog took the Hamptons last summer and lived to write about it.

This is how bad rhinoceros poaching has gotten in Africa: Increasingly, people who want to prevent the animals' extinction are relying on airlifts to save them.

Warning: Content may disturb. Animal advocacy activists have released shocking undercover footage from a colony egg farm that shows dead hens rotting in their cages and dying hens trapped beneath perches.

The creature was fatally shot in Florida, after terrorising cattle on a farm.

Longest living resident at Wellington zoo dies.

The owners of a dog which died on Friday are wondering if their pooch has fallen victim to an unknown illness that killed another dog and affected three others last month.

National Geographic has started an ambitious project to document all 12,000 species in captivity - many of which are endangered.

Just metres away, a giraffe spreads its front legs wide and lowers its long neck for a drink.

Most dogs love water but some love it more than others (and are better swimmers). Here's our list of pooches that love a splash:

Westport residents are outraged a local fisherman allegedly dumped a sizeable dead stingray at North Beach earlier this week.

Source: Sky 1

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGE - Mohawk the lion, one of Kenya's most famous big cats, was fatally shot by wildlife rangers after they ran out of tranquilisers.

Who's a good dog? Look no further than these great companions.

We have all heard how rescuers have to come to the aid of cats stuck up trees and birds with broken wings, but this operation was a little more complicated.

The idea of unicorns roaming alongside humans sounds like something from a fairy tale, but a "Siberian unicorn" may in fact have lived alongside our ancestors.

Researchers in Australia are administering an online cat personality test, and they've found something interesting: Cats are not too different from us.

Photographers from 54 countries captured stunning moments for this year's UPY London Underwater Photographer of the Year competition. Here are our some of our favourites.

Puppy love was alive and well in Auckland on Saturday, with homeless pooches being united with new owners.

Auckland Zoo's 28-year-old hippopotamus "Fudge" has died.

Located about 45 minutes outside Tasmania's capital of Hobart, Bonorong is the anti-zoo.

What's better than an online personality test? An online cat personality test.

A 6-year-old cat burglar with a taste for men's underwear is terrorising the streets of Hamilton.