New Zealanders have long been a nation of animal lovers, and now we're also a country that loves to post pictures of our pets online.

A large dolphin pod rides the waves at West Beach in Esperance, Western Australia. Source: Youtube / David Smith777

A little blue penguin found lethargic and emaciated at Moa Pt in Wellington has been returned to the wild after Wellington Zoo staff nursed it back to health.

Jennifer Layton was disqualified by the council of owning a dog for five years from October 2013, but after a third appeal that time has been halved.

Shocking footage has emerged of a shark being dragged out of the water so a group of tourists could take photographs with it.

The woman who was attacked by a bear suffered several bites and scratches and had injuries to her head, neck and upper body.

The male elephant, nicknamed Pretty Boy, is believed to be about 25 and is the latest casualty of poachers supplying the ivory trade.

It's not just humans who battle weight issues - our dogs, cats and other pets all run the risk of obesity too.

Research has long shown that animals suffer psychological damage in captivity, yet we've always found a way to justify confining them to tanks and cages.

Melbourne Zoo's newborn elephant cannot stand, which leaves her future uncertain.

A woman in her 40s has suffered multiple bite wounds after being attacked by a dog in Hunterville, in the Rangitikei district.

A family got a little closer to nature than they bargained for when a bear opened their car door at Yellowstone National Park.

A Chinese village is overrun with monkeys after a plan to increase tourism in the area spectacularly backfired.

The body of toddler snatched by alligator at Disney resort has been found, says a source close to the investigation.

Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings says some 50 people are now "working on recovering the body" of a 2-year-old boy snatched by an alligator at Walt Disney World.

This image of Diggy the dog went viral. Then his owner was visited by police and told if he didn't get rid of Diggy, he could be put down.

There were plenty of high-pitched squeals from Auckland zoo-goers as two cute new-born capybaras drew crowds.

Kiwi pop star Jamie McDell has written a song to bring to people's attention that only 55 of the protected species remain.

Woman shares security footage of boy sneaking into her garage every day to cuddle her dog ... and then finds out the boy's own dog died from old age last year.

People have been trying to understand how living things know where they're going for more than 100 years.

Emergency Services have successfully rescued a horse trapped by dangerously rising floodwaters in the Otaki River.

Husar, a 400-kilogram male manatee, arrived at his new home in the Paris Zoo Thursday morning after travelling from Italy. Source: AFP

And it smelt delicious, according to his rescuers.

A woman reviewing security camera footage at her home was surprised to notice a little boy sneaking into her garage. The footage revealed a boy riding past Hollie Breaux Mallet's home in Louisiana before jumping off his bike and running into her garage. But rather than being up to no good, he was captured playing with the woman's pet dog, Duchess. The footage then shows him leaving the garage and riding away.

COMMENT: Pigs with human organs may sound "yuck" but is just another case of swapping DNA, writes John Harris.

Bretagne responded to multiple natural disasters across the country, including Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.

The policeman who jumped out of a second-storey window to escape a gunman during the Porirua seige has spoken about how he feared for his life.

Dog registration fees have risen this year but are cheaper if owners re-register their dogs during the "earlybird period".

For the past five years or so, Lesley Lowe and her 10 little ponies have been entertaining children with trail rides and lessons at the Tiny Trotters Animal Park in Redwood Lane, Tauriko, but since her lease ran out at the end of May they are looking for a new home.

Attempts are being made to capture a flock of kea in Haast, after one was found to be suffering from lead poisoning.