Latest fromPets & Animals

Extra species change birds' pecking order
There are 462 more species of bird in the world than previously thought.

Singleton: orang-utan expert
Dr Ian Singleton, the British conservationist, world-renowned orang-utan expert and director of the Sumatran Orang-utan Conservation Programme was hanging out at the Auckland Zoo this week.

Wendyl Nissen: It's a dog's life when owners don't read list of ingredients
I hope readers of this column spend a bit of time looking at ingredients when shopping for their food. But how many of us bother to spend the same amount of time checking out our pet's food?

Screams as croc took man
A 57-year-old fisherman who stepped into the shallows of the Adelaide River near Darwin took a fatal risk in some of the most densely populated crocodile waters.

Seal killing: dogs' owner found
Members of the public have helped to locate the owner of two dogs which fatally attacked a seal in Tairua on the Coromandel Peninsula on Monday.

Talk to the Animals: Is this electric shock treatment for dogs?
My perception of bark collars is that they are a last resort when other less punishing methods of control have been tried, writes Sally Hibbard.

Warm winter brings rise in rat numbers
While it might not yet be a plague, the rat population has exploded thanks to a warm start to the winter and a feast of beech mast seeds, pest controllers say.

Poaching forces rhino evacuation
Up to 500 rhinos are to be evacuated from Kruger National Park and taken to areas where they are less likely to fall prey to poachers, under plans announced by South African authorities.

Te Papa to defrost new colossal squid
Scientists at the Te Papa museum are hoping a colossal squid now in their possession is a male - making an already rare find an extraordinary one.

Tinder tiger selfies harmful
You might have noticed recently that a plague of "selfies" with tigers appears to have overtaken mobile dating app Tinder (where users "swipe right" to indicate interest; left to reject).

Now ear this - horses 'talk' to each other
Horses have more sense than many people realise, according to scientists who have shown the animals are able to communicate with one another by moving their eyes and ears.

WWI: NZ battle horses paid terrible toll
11:They served in horrific conditions, and many of those that survived years of war were rewarded with a bullet.

Time lapse: Tuatara hatching
With a face only a mother could love - a baby tuatara was captured on film as it hatched out of its egg at Victoria University of Wellington.

Boy mauled, despite dog ban
Housing New Zealand is to look into how a young boy was mauled by a dog on one of its properties, despite a dog ban being in place.

Rare video: Tuatara hatching time-lapse
This is extremely rare footage of a tuatara hatching, filmed at Victoria University of Wellington. The egg was one of 23 being incubated in captivity as part of a joint initiative with the Department of Conservation and Ngati Manuhiri that has saved a threatened population of tuatara from extinction.

Rangers endangered species
The battle against poachers is taking a grim toll on the people charged with protecting wild animals

Black cats savaged in 'selfie' era
For centuries they have faced suspicion, hostility and even death as a result of the bad luck they are said to carry with them.

Talk to the Animals: Become a NZ animal expert
I really like old American cars - I like how they look and how they sound but please don't ask me anything about their inner workings.

Kerre McIvor: Time to get tough on owners of attack dogs
It's time the Govt got tough on the mongrels who choose to have dogs simply to intimidate and make a statement, not to love and care for and have as part of the family, writes Kerre McIvor.