A dead whale is seen on the shore of the Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil November 15, 2017. A biologist, Rafael Carvalho, said on Wednesday the whale appeared to have been dead for a few days. Authorities were urging beachgoers who had flocked to Ipanema on a national holiday to stay away from the animal. However, many were spotted near the carcass with some people playing in the water nearby. The whale is approximately 39 feet (12 metres) long and weighs about 25 tonnes. (Photo by Pilar Olivares/Reuters)

People stand near beached sperm whales on January 13, 2016, after they became stranded on the Dutch island of Texel the day before. Five sperm whales which became stranded on Texel have died, officials said January 13. Experts said the beached whales had already been badly injured and their chances of survival were poor. Volunteers tried to save them but called off their efforts late in the night because of bad weather and darkness, ANP news agency said. (Photo by Remko de Waal/AFP Photo/ANP)

The tail of a stranded whale is pictured on the beach of De Haan, Belgium on October 25, 2018. (Photo by Francois Lenoi/Reuters)

Onlookers gather around a struggling beached whale in the Yoff neighborhood of Dakar, Senegal Wednesday, May 21, 2008. Residents worked Wednesday morning to save some of the more than 80 whales that were stranded on the beach Tuesday night. This whale was successfully towed out to sea by a fishing boat, though at least 20 others lay dead on the beach by midday Wednesday. (Photo by Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo)

A new book published by the UK Natural History Museum showcases some of the most memorable underwater photographs taken over the last few decades in its annual wildlife photographer of the year competition. Here: Giant gathering by Tony Wu. “The first indication that something extraordinary was going on were the blows, huge numbers of them – the exhalations of huge numbers of whales. Entering the water, the photographer witnessed an extraordinary scene”. (Photo by Tony Wu/Unforgettable Underwater Photography/NHM)

An official (R) measures the size of a whale shark (Rhincodon typus) carcass on the shore of Teluk Betung beach in West Sumatra, Indonesia, 08 October 2019. The dead whale shark washed ashore at Teluk Betung beach on 07 October 2019. (Photo by Rajo Batuah/EPA/EFE)

A fisherman transports a dead whale shark after it was caught in fishermen's net, in Yangzhi county, Fujian province August 1, 2014. According to local media, the whale shark is five-metre-long and weighs over 2 tonnes. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

One of three Sperm Whales, which were found washed ashore near Skegness over the weekend, lays on a beach on January 25, 2016 in Skegness, England. The whales are thought to have been from the same pod as another animal that was found on Hunstanton beach in Norfolk on Friday. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)