Poachers have broken into a French zoo and shot dead a rare white rhinoceros sawing off its horn in what is believed to be the first time in Europe that a rhino in captivity has been attacked and killed.

• ANALYSIS

The State of the Environment report, the latest five-year government snapshot, makes for generally dismal reading.

"It is altering the structure and function of natural ecosystems, and affecting heritage, economic activity and human wellbeing."

Thai veterinarians removed 915 coins from a 25-year-old sea turtle which had been swallowing items thrown into her pool for good luck, eventually limiting her ability to swim.

More than half the world's turtles and two-thirds of some bird species along Australia's east coast are being found to have ingested plastics as the toll from pollution mounts.

Large and powerful surf conditions are expected to batter most of the NSW coast for most of the working week as a low-pressure system that delivered a weekend drenching continues to linger off the state's coast.

The remarkably inactive cyclone season off Australia's north has finally been disturbed by a major storm, as Tropical Cyclone Blanche brings heavy rain and strong winds to the Top End around Darwin.

Poor countries have contributed the least to human-induced climate change but are already being affected more than richer ones.

She is probably the only internet sensation in Harpursville, New York, a hamlet of about 3500 people in the Southern Tier region: April, a very pregnant giraffe, whose livestream video has attracted millions of viewers.

Revellers heading to Sydney for Saturday's Mardi Gras celebrations no longer face the prospect of wild weather despite wet conditions, according to the Bureau of Meteorology's latest update.

Antarctic Bottom Water is a thing, and it's one worth getting into the discussion about the consequences of climate change.

Rsk of heavy rainfall and even flash flooding stretches all the way down the coast from Gosford to the Victorian border.

A rescue mission to help one of the world's rarest parrots is nearing its climax, and a group of Canberra bird enthusiasts is helping out.

Several homes in Sydney's west have been flooded overnight as parts of NSW brace for torrential rain and potential flash flooding this weekend.

NSW should place a cap on the amount of thermal coal it can mine and plan an orderly phase-out of the industry within a decade to do its bit to avoid catastrophic climate change, NSW Greens say.

Wildlife prices are tumbling in South Africa as game breeders are squeezed by restrictions imposed on trophy hunting after Cecil the lion was killed, and the worst drought on record has forced farmers to sell animals.

There's an old saying that elephants never forget. You also can say they almost never sleep.

Early warning technology being trialled in areas prone to flash floods

Sydney's record-breaking weather juggernaut rolls on, with summer confirmed as the city's hottest for both days and nights over records stretching back 157 years.

The release of a new calicivirus strain is imminent but ACT vets are running low on the vaccine used to protect pet bunnies.

Giant spider crabs are gathering in their thousands at Blairgowrie for an annual event so impressive it's drawn David Attenborough and a Japanese film crew to document it. But few Victorians know about it.

Violence in El Salvador has reached crisis levels in recent years.

Largely dormant for the last two years, Sicily's volcano erupted for the first time this year.

There is about 10 per cent less sea ice in Antarctica this year than the previous record minimum.

While it might sound like a cool idea to bring animals like the Tasmanian tiger back from extinction, new research shows this would come at the cost of other already threatened species.

Australia's greenhouse gas pollution jumped in 2015-16 as coal use continued to rise after the scrapping of the carbon price, making it harder to meet its emissions targets.

After years of cuts, Victorians with solar panels will see an increase in what they are paid for the energy they feed into the power grid.

"It's been pretty ordinary that's for sure. We broke the record for the wettest summer on record, with 192.8 millimetres of rain compared to 180.4 which was set back in 1955 - and the average summer rainfall in Perth is 35.4, so that's a significant rise."

The owner of a dog that was killed by a shark at a popular off-leash beach in Sydney's south said he was traumatised after watching his pet being pulled under the water just metres from the shore.

The wet conditions are not unlike an east coast low developing offshore.