A callout on Friday afternoon has ended up being one of a DoC ranger's better work stories.

The pukeko has gone from pest to New Zealand icon, starring in TV commercials, gracing souvenirs and almost upstaging the kiwi. So how did a long-legged, ungainly bird — the bane of farmers’ lives — become a celebrity, asks Dionne Christian.

NIWA have explored deeper seas than ever before, and found some new strange looking fish.