Large tabby cat that wiped out dozens of rare pāteke, or brown teal, has been killed after eluding trappers with its ‘very erratic’ behaviour A notorious feral cat given the name “Nine Lives” because it eluded trappers for three years has been caught and killed in New Zealand, ending its devastating rampage against one of the country’s rare duck populations. The cat, a large grey tabby, is estimated to have killed dozens of New Zealand’s rarest mainland duck – or 1% of its population – plus a host of kiwi chicks, native geckos and other native wildlife during the three years it was known to be roaming the Purerua peninsula, near the top of the North Island. Continue reading...

Stop-motion animation voted the UK’s all-time favourite kids’ show will be rebooted with the ‘saggy old cloth cat’ now busy mending in modern Britain More than half a century has passed since the BBC aired 13 episodes of the story of a somnolent pink-and-white striped cat which cemented Bagpuss’s place in the annals of TV history. Now Bagpuss, “the most important, the most beautiful, the most magical saggy old cloth cat in the whole wide world” has been dusted off to star in a new film. The original show was primarily stop-motion with some paper cutout and conventional animation work, while the big screen reboot will combine live action and animation, with a projected release date of 2027. Continue reading...