SunSeeker
SunSeeker's JournalAn Australian destroyer arrived in San Diego with 2 dead endangered whales stuck to its hull
Two dead endangered whales were dislodged from the hull of an Australian destroyer after the warship docked in San Diego last weekend, according to the Royal Australian Navy.
"The Navy takes marine mammal safety seriously and is disheartened this incident occurred," a statement from the Australian navy said. The Australian and US navies -- along with the US NOAA Fisheries, which oversees marine resources -- were investigating, the statement said.
CNN affiliate 10News in San Diego reported the dead mammals were fin whales, the world's second-largest whale species, behind only blue whales. One was 65 feet (about 20 meters) long and the other about 25 feet (7.6 meters), the report said.
A NOAA Fisheries fact sheet on fin whales lists them as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, with a population of about 3,200 off the US West Coast. The whales were once hunted extensively, but today their biggest threat is being struck by a ship, the fact sheet says.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/12/australia/australia-destroyer-whales-san-diego-intl-hnk-scli-ml/index.html
Looks like it was a mom and her baby. I bet she tried to protect it with her body. 
Las Vegas teen helps save desert tortoises, one balloon at a time
Look closely in the desert foothills a few miles northwest of Las Vegas, and you might see shades of color dotting the cloudless landscape of cactus and mounds of dirt with mountains to the west.
On a Saturday morning in April, a few miles from the nearest road, deflated Mylar balloons stuck to plants can be mistaken for colorful flowers.
A year and a half ago, Christian learned that desert tortoises often mistake balloons for flowers and eat them. It’s a potentially deadly mistake for the species found in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts and listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.The goal of the Desert Balloon Project is to raise awareness about the issue and urge people not to release Mylar balloons into the air — something most people don’t think twice about.
For now, Christian has no plans to stop hiking on Saturday mornings, picking up stray balloons from the desert and protecting tortoise lives in the process.
https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/las-vegas-teen-helps-save-desert-tortoises-one-balloon-at-a-time/
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