A man accused of stealing puppies from the SPCA and wielding a firearm in a shopping mall car park will appear in court today.

Oz's female cub, Kirana, at Hamilton Zoo. Oz is the tiger who fatally mauled a senior keeper, Samantha Kudeweh. Supplied: Belinda Feek

The head of Adelaide Zoo believes it's been well worth spending millions to become the only Southern Hemisphere zoo to have pandas.

As Wellington City Council consider bringing giant pandas to Wellington Zoo, we take a look at these cute animals in action.

Wellington City Council is looking at a business case for bringing giant pandas from China to Wellington Zoo that could cost $100m. Does Wellington Zoo need giant pandas?

Samantha Kudeweh was an experienced senior keeper and a mother to two children and was killed by Oz, the male Sumatran tiger at the Hamilton zoo.

A cat has been shot with an arrow, dozens of cats have gone missing, and dogs have been poisoned in what police fear could be a co-ordinated attack on Wanganui pets.

Kiwi could be sent to China if it helped a New Zealand zoo secure giant pandas, Prime Minister John Key says.

Peta says death of Hamilton keeper should send a message to zoos around the world to "reconsider their continued confinement of big cats".

Hamilton Zoo's male Sumatran tiger Oz will not be euthanised following the death of Zoo Curator Samantha Kudeweh.

A fox terrier came off second best in Blaketown yesterday when it took on a much larger dog.

The fate of the tiger that killed Hamilton Zoo keeper Sam Kudeweh was unknown, but animal activists are fighting to keep the animal alive.

Samantha Kudeweh described the arrival of a Sumatran tiger and the birth of two cubs as a "career highlight". Yesterday, the big cat took her life.

The woman killed by a tiger at Hamilton Zoo today was senior staff member, Samantha Kudeweh.

A dispute over ownership of a cat seen the claws come out, with lawyers and police getting involved and a request being made for a cat DNA test.

Sausage dogs across Melbourne today competed in the 'Running of the Wieners'.

Animal rights activists are up in arms after learning live pigs were shot in the head at the University of Otago as part of scientific research.

Seal jumped on board kayak and just sat there sunning itself before hopping off.

A critically endangered turtle found in a bad way in the Bay of Islands is now recovering at Kelly Tarlton's Aquarium in Auckland.

Spot the pigeon - that's the aim of a survey that will harness "citizen science" to grasp whether our colourful kereru is becoming rarer or more common.

Colorado's Waterton Canyon park has bears, and those bears have a problem: hikers wielding selfie sticks.

A man was out hunting with three of his dogs when he fell down a steep ravine and ended up getting trapped near a stream in the central North Island.

From Tongariro, the chick's dad is called "Little Moa", and its sibling is still in the incubation room and getting close to hatching as well.

McCaw is a rowi chick and was hatched at the West Coast Wildlife Centre in Franz Josef early this morning.

The 2015/16 kiwi hatching season is officially underway at Rainbow Springs' Kiwi Encounter, with the team welcoming a fluffy new arrival. The chick hatched at 11.20am on Saturday weighing in at 346g. Supplied: Rainbow Springs

His species are the ultimate survivors, the solitary legacy of an order of reptiles that thrived in the age of the dinosaur. But one tuatara needed a little extra help.

A farmer says he was powerless to stop a man who cut the teats off of around 20 of his milking cows.

They call him Braveheart - and it's a name he wears every bit of.