“Sixteen pilot whales died when they became stranded at Pittenweem, near St Andrews, on Sunday morning, Forth Coastguard said.

The mammals were part of a group of 26, of which 10 were refloated and returned to sea by vets and more than 50 volunteers from the emergency services and British Divers Marine Life Rescue. The whales were kept cool and hydrated with wet blankets and sheets on the shore”. – WalesOnline

Photo: Emergency service personnel walk near beached whales as they continue in their rescue attempt to save a large number of pilot whales who have beached on September 1, 2012 in Pittenweem, Scotland. A number of whales have died after being stranded on the east coast of Scotland between Anstruther and Pittenweem. (Photo by Jeff J. Mitchell)

A reef shell lies on a beach as the sun sets on Lady Elliot Island located north-east of the town of Bundaberg in Queensland, Australia, June 10, 2015. UNESCO World Heritage delegates recently snorkelled on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, thousands of coral reefs, which stretch over 2,000 km off the northeast coast. Surrounded by manta rays, dolphins and reef sharks, their mission was to check the health of the world's largest living ecosystem, which brings in billions of dollars a year in tourism. Some coral has been badly damaged and animal species, including dugong and large green turtles, are threatened. UNESCO will say on Wednesday whether it will place the reef on a list of endangered World Heritage sites, a move the Australian government wants to avoid at all costs, having lobbied hard overseas. Earlier this year, UNESCO said the reef's outlook was “poor”. (Photo by David Gray/Reuters)

Photographs show an adventurer swimming with giant Manta Rays at night. In her latest daring adventure, Alison Teal set out in the middle of the night to free dive with Manta Rays off the coast of Hawaii. Using only hand held dive lights, Alison dove over 50 feet down being careful never to touch the mantas as they fed off the plankton in the light streams. Here: Photos taken by photographer Sarah Lee show the beautiful sight of Manta Rays at night, as they swim with America explorer, Alison Teal. (Photo by Sarah Lee/Caters News Agency)

The Al-Gaffal is an annual long-distance race between crews sailing 60-ft. traditional wooden boats called dhows and takes place in the Persian Gulf, between the island of Sir Bu Nair, near the Iranian coast and the Gulf emirate of Dubai. Photo: Traditional wooden boats, or dhows, compete at sunrise during the Al Gaffal race, a long-distance dhow sailing race, near Sir Bu Nuayr, near Sharjah May 18, 2014. (Photo by Martin Dokoupil/Reuters)

Todd Bretl specializes in underwater photography, and is able to capture striking photos of aquatic life big and small. His photos of sharks are particularly striking; though he rarely faces hostility from the animals, he tries not to spend too much time looking through his viewfinder and many shots are framed by educated guesses and impeccable timing. What follows are photographs taken over the past several years on trips to the Bahamas and Isla Guadalupe, an island off the coast of the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. (Photo by Todd Bretl)

In this photo taken Tuesday, February 2, 2016, asylum seekers gather round a fire as they cook a meal overlooking the temporary Altnes camp refugee camp on the island of Seiland, northern Norway. Waiting for their asylum claims to be processed, hundreds of people in emergency shelters in Hammerfest and neighboring towns are slowly getting used to the extreme climate and unfamiliar customs of the High North. They say they have adapted to the cold – the temperature rarely drops below minus 10 degrees C (14 F) along the coast, though it gets much colder further inland. It’s the darkness that throws them off. (Photo by Alastair Grant/AP Photo)

A woman cries while sitting on a road amid the destroyed city of Natori, Miyagi Prefecture in northern Japan March 13, 2011, after a massive earthquake and tsunami. Five years on from the tsunami that triggered meltdowns at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, the page is anything but turned. A magnitude 9 earthquake and towering tsunami on March 11, 2011 killed nearly 16,000 people along Japan's northeastern coast and left more than 2,500 missing. The 10-metre (33-foot) tsunami swept away everything in its path, including houses, ships, cars and farm buildings. (Photo by Asahi Shimbun/Reuters)

This combination of August 30, 2005 and July 29, 2015 aerial photos shows downtown New Orleans and the Superdome flooded by Hurricane Katrina and the same area a decade later. Katrina's powerful winds and driving rain bore down on Louisiana on August 29, 2005. The storm caused major damage to the Gulf Coast from Texas to central Florida while powering a storm surge that breached the system of levees that were built to protect New Orleans from flooding. (Photo by David J. Phillip/Gerald Herbert/AP Photo)