Whales.

Up-close animal experiences can be amazing, but it is always important to maintain a relationship of respect. According to the Daily Mail U.K., that respect for animals was not practiced by an unidentified swimmer spotted riding a weak sperm whale in Pompano Beach, Florida, hours before the endangered animal was found dead. A federal investigation has been launched to look into the whale death. A videotape shows an individual repeatedly climbing onto a whale that was drifting near the beach. Experts are unsure of the cause of the whale's death, but believe the human rider was not the main factor. Instead, it is believed that the animal was dying before this encounter, which is why it was ...

Now that Willy is free, it looks like he is trying to make new friends. As seen in this YouTube video, a killer whale tried to get close to a Labrador playing in the surf of a New Zealand beach. During a routine dip for a free diver and his dog, four orca whales came strangely close to the shore of Mathenson Bay. Not wanting to interfere with the marine animals, which included a mother and her calf, the diver carefully moved to some nearby rocks to give the whales space. The diver's dog, lost in a game of fetch, was not as perceptive. This allowed one of the orcas to give the canine quite a shock, surfacing right next to the dog. While the whale seemed interested in getting closer to ...

Moby Dick lives! According to the Daily Mail U.K., a maritime engineer spotted a white humpback whale swimming amongst a pod of regular-hued humpbacks in the waters off Norway. Dan Fisher said he was a on a boat trip when he noticed an unusual white shape surfacing. Fisher went to the mast of the boat to get a better a look, and he was surprised to find one of the underwater world's rarest sights. This pale whale likely has leucism, a disorder that affects the pigmentation of the skin. Fisher and the rest of the crew watched the friendly creature frolic with his pod before swimming off. It was a special moment for Dan Fisher, who said he had never seen anything like it in 10 years of ...