Whales

Another dead gray whale has washed up on a San Francisco beach. It's the ninth whale found dead in the Bay Area since March. Researchers say, the 41ft-long adult female was hit by a ship. The Marine Mammal centre said three previous whales died from ship strikes and four from malnutrition. But they suspect warming ocean conditions might also be a factor linked to their deaths.
At least 50 pilot whales died after becoming stranded on a beach in the Chatham Islands, about 800 kilometres east of New Zealand. This is the third stranding of pilot whales in the region in one week.
There are hundreds of whales swimming through the waters close to Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. Tourists are arriving in droves, keen to swim with them, but some are getting too close for comfort. A mother whale hit a swimmer with her fins when he got too close. Local marine conservationists are trying to educate the visitors on how to enjoy the whales without causing them distress.
Rescuers are trying to push the survivors back out to sea.
The moment is perhaps proof of whale's intuitive nature to protect other species of animal - including humans.
Rescuers embarked on a 12-hour operation to save the whales.