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)

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)

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 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)

Revelers celebrate New Years Eve in socially distanced pods at Times Square on December 31, 2020, in New York City. On average, about one million revelers are drawn to the Crossroads of the World to watch performances and celebrate the New Year. This year a limited live audience of about 40 first responders and essential workers will be allowed to watch the New Years' ball drop from a secure area in Times Square. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

“Centuries ago, Inuit hunted the bowhead whale. At that time, whale hunting undoubtedly was part of a complex and very important ritual, if only because of the size of the catch. The position that the ancestors of today's Inuit occupied in the living world involved a relationship with the spirit that inhabited each animal but also their species”. (Photo by Robert Frechette/2014 Sony World Photography Awards)