A rescue team has released from a barge in the North Sea a humpback whale that had been stranded in shallow waters near Germany since March, witnesses said. Nicknamed Timmy by German media, the whale was spotted swimming near Germany’s Baltic Sea coast on March 3, far from its natural habitat in the Atlantic Ocean. The mammal’s health deteriorated as it became repeatedly stranded in shallow waters, and unsuccessful efforts were made to coax it toward deeper seas. The environment minister for Germany’s Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania state gave the green light for the attempt to save the whale, despite some warnings from the scientific community that it may be too much for the animal.
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WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The kiwi, New Zealand’s sacred national bird, vanished from the hills around Wellington more than a century ago…
A staff member of a conservation organization watches as a kiwi bird is released at Terawhiti Station, Mākara, near Wellington, New Zealand, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (Sara Tansy/Capital Kiwi Project via AP)
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A massive sea lion nicknamed Chonkers is charming tourists and locals at San Francisco's Pier 39. On Thursday morning, visitors snapped photos of the Steller sea lion as he flopped on the pier among much smaller California sea lions. Chonkers is estimated to weigh between 1,500 and 2,000 pounds. He likely came from waters off Washington or Oregon. Laura Gill from The Marine Mammal Center says the pier offers protection from predators and plenty of food. Sea lions have gathered at the pier since after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, becoming a tourist attraction.
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Chonkers, a giant Steller sea lion, sits on a dock at San Francisco's Fishermen's Wharf, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)
AP
Chonkers, a giant Steller sea lion, lies at center with other sea lions on a dock at Fisherman's Wharf, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)
A calf stands under solar panels Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Christiana, Tenn. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
Loran Shallenberger, vice president of regenerative energy and agrivoltaics at Silicon Ranch, clears weeds out from under solar panels Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at a farm in Christiana, Tenn. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
AP
A giant statue of Nipper the dog sits atop a building in the warehouse district in Albany, N.Y., Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)
AP
A giant statue of Nipper the dog sits atop a building in the warehouse district in Albany, N.Y., Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)