Best animal stories of 2020

The RNZ audience loves a good animal yarn. Here is a selection of our favourites from 2020.

  1. 01

    Cat almost steals the show during Morning Report interview

    A Siamese cat named Rambo almost got a starring spot on RNZ back in June.

  2. 02

    Parallel barking: Aotearoa's Pet Bus

    Photo of a bus with Pet Bus written in large letters and pictures of a puppy, kitten, duckling, rabbit and parrot on the side

    Former dog breeder Karyn McLauchlan wasn't happy with the way her animals were being moved around so she came up with a solution.

  3. 03

    Hogwart the 'ugly-cute' kunekune pig finds a new home

    Photo of a pig with long black hair standing in a mud puddle

    Hogwart was living rough until the Auckland Council picked him up and made him an internet star.

  4. 04

    'Desexed dog' gives birth to 8 puppies

    Photo of black dog with a white muzzle, feeding tiny puppies with a happy look on its face

    An Auckland couple who picked up a supposedly desexed dog from a Hawke's Bay pound before Christmas found themselves caring for eight puppies.

  5. 05

    Wild horses of the Far North

    Photo of two stallions fighting at sunrise. One stallion is on its hind legs kicking at the other. Dust tints the air with a golden hue.

    Up to 2,000 horses live on restricted forested land in Northland - many more than the more-famous Kaimanawas.

  6. 06

    Fish are way smarter than you think

    Photo of Culum Brown standing in front of aquarium tanks

    Fish are surprisingly intelligent, and this has implications for animal welfare, says Australian marine biologist Culum Brown.

  7. 07

    Great white sharks 'personality' revealed

    An underwater photo of a great white shark

    Thanks to new research we now know more about shark's individual personalities, courtship and mating - and the possibility they can detect the female human scent.

  8. 08

    Running with donkeys

    A close up photo of Sherman the donkey's face. He has brown fur and a white muzzle. A woman poses next to him.

    Christopher McDougall trained a badly mistreated donkey named Sherman to walk again - eventually, they competed in an extreme mountain race.

  9. 09

    Paekākāriki penguins make raucous flatmates

    A black and white photo of a little blue penguin crouching under a house

    Bride and Graham Coe share their home with some unusual housemates who are smelly and a bit noisy.

  10. 10

    Wellington celebrity cat Mittens awarded honor by mayor

    Photo of Mittens, a fluffy orange cat, standing next to a framed certificate which reads "Mittens, His Floofyness"

    Wellington's mayor has awarded the Key to the City to a celebrity inner city feline who has gathered a large following locally and attracted international attention.