Whale Discovered in Amazon Forest

Whales are usually found in the ocean, which is why the sight of a whale deep in the Amazon Forest made the headlines this week.

On Wednesday a 12-ton whale that had been separated from its herd ended up on a sand bank 1600 km (994 miles) off course from the Atlantic Ocean deep in the heart of the Amazon Rain Forest. It is said that it may have spent the better part of two months in the river Tapajos, a tributary of the mighty Amazon River, which, incidentally, is now recognised as the world's longest river, ahead of the Nile.

After being the recipient of some local hospitality in which people splashed water on the minke whale to keep it cool in the steamy jungle, the whale was then freed on Friday. Its back and dorsal fin were said to have been directly exposed to the merciless sun. Having been refreshed and freed, the whale then promptly swam away and was quickly lost to sight, no doubt with a more favourable view of mankind if its ever lost a relative to a harpoon-happy Japanese whaler.