By Hannah Sarney
The 3 News Animals of the Week are back - let's celebrate like French bulldogs!
A little kiwi named Tamakitera, which means "daylight child" in Maori, is being released on Motuora Island today. 3 News met Tamakitera yesterday (pictured above) - photos of the release and an article about the amazing work done by the BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust are on the way.
Meanwhile, a very unwelcome visitor was captured on these shores last night - the Queensland fruitfly poses a serious threat to New Zealand's $6.5 billion horticulture industry. Biosecurity staff are now desperately searching for the pest.
Moving overseas, one of the last bastions of biodiversity, Myanmar, is said to be "ripe for environmental rape" as foreign investors begin to pour in as the military grip loosens.
Greenpeace has released shocking pictures from the 2010 BP oil spill. Environmental groups believe they are evidence that the public was not shown the true scale of the disaster.
An orca hunt for gray whale calves has been interrupted by good sea-maritan humpback whales and documented by a crew from the BBC's Planet Earth Live series. The humpbacks set about trumpeting, diving and slapping their pectoral fins against the water to fend the orcas off in Monterey Bay.
Two dolphins have died a slow and agonising death after a drug overdose following a rave in Switzerland. WHAT?
Initially, loud music was blamed for stressing the dolphins and leading eventually to death. However, an autopsy revealed that a heroin substitute was the real reason. The drug tricked the dolphins' brains, switching off their monitor that tells them they need to surface for air, according to experts.
Hundreds of dolphins that have washed up dead on beaches in northern Peru have not been linked to the mass die-off of pelicans in the same area. The whole situation still seems to be mostly puzzling scientists.
NICE NEWS BREAK:
VICE's The Cute Show has gone to Italy to meet the people (and the owls) behind that very popular clip "Lovely Owl".
An extremely rare video has been released this week of Cross River gorillas - the most endangered African apes - and photographs by James Mollison have highlighted the individuality of apes of all shapes and sizes.
The creators of "Dogs in Cars" have produced part two - "Dogs in Cars: California". Supported by Phantom Planet's song "California", it’s filled with all of the doggy delights of the first video and it conjures up mental images of Sandy Cohen's eyebrows.
After the pups, you can spend the rest of the day watching kittens on this live stream. You're welcome.
3 News