A 36-feet long humpback whale has been found dead in the Amazon jungle, miles from its natural habitat.

Experts in Brazil have been left baffled as to how the ten-tonne animal came to be lying in the woodland area around 50ft (15 meters) from the sea.

The marine mammal was discovered last Friday in the middle of the undergrowth on the island of Marajo off the Araruna Beach, at the mouth of the Amazon River.

Scientists believe the creature died at sea and may have landed in the wooded area after rough seas and high tides threw it inland, far from the ocean.

A team from Semma went to the region to inspect the remains, believed to be a 12-month old calf, and to gather information which could help to explain how the aquatic creature crash landed in the jungle.

Video taken at the time shows the mammal splayed out in swampy mangrove surrounded by trees, with no visible signs of injury. In a Facebook post by the NGO, Bicho D'agua Institute which is based on Marajo Island, biologists suspect that the calf become entangled in the mangroves after being thrown ashore by high waves.

The Maritime Herald suggested the animal may have been killed by swallowing marine plastics and the body was then washed inland.

Dirlene Silva, from the department of health, sanitation and environment (Semma) said to Brazilian media Journal O Liberal: 'We only found the whale because of the presence of scavenging birds of prey.

'The vultures were spotted circling above the carcass which was found hidden in the bush some distance from the sea.'

A team of ten biologists struggled to reach the body of the whale at the first attempt, and were only able to reach it at the second try, according Brazilian news site O Tempo Brasil.

Biologists from the Bicho D'agua Institute have been called in to collect forensic samples to determine the cause of death.

They believe the massive animal, which measures six feet wide, was already dead when it was carried by huge waves to its unnatural resting place.

Renata Emin, the project's president and marine specialist said: “We’re still not sure how it landed here, but we’re guessing that the creature was floating close to the shore and the tide, which has been pretty considerable over the past few days, picked it up and threw it inland, into the mangrove.

‘Along with this astonishing feat, we are baffled as to what a humpback whale is doing on the north coast of Brazil during February because this is a very unusual occurrence.’

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For those who live near bodies of water, it’s important that we warn little ones not to go near when it’s icy. But what about animals?

Poachers and hunters are abundant in the Kariega Game Reserve woods located in South Africa. Since there are rhinos existing the deep forests, some evil people always find a way to hunt them for their horns which is then sold in an invaluable amount. 

Two young construction workers in Estonia rescued what they believed was a dog who had fallen through the ice on a frozen lake. They carried it to their car and drove him to a local animal shelter without having any idea it was a wolf.

Credit: Estonian Animal Protection Association
The Estonian Animal Protection Association said in a statement that they had received a phone call from a young gentleman who said he and his colleagues had "rescued a dog" from the Pärnu River.

The men had noticed a panic-stricken animal in the middle of the icy river and immediately sprung into action.

They managed to push ice chunks away and clear the path for the animal, who then had enough strength left to swim about 100 meters to the shore.

Credit: Estonian Animal Protection Association
Once safely on the shore, the wolf was stiff from the exhaustion and covered in ice.



The men brought a towel from their nearby car, wrapped him up and took him to a car to warm up.

Credit: Estonian Animal Protection Association
Once they arrived at the animal shelter, vets informed the men that the dog they had rescued, was in fact, a wolf.

The vets later said the wolf was fast recovering from its desperate fight for survival. They believe the wolf, a young male, would have most certainly drowned had the men not rushed to his rescue.

The Estonian Environment Agency said the wolf was released back into the wilderness later that evening.

Credit: Estonian Animal Protection Association
That wolf had a weird day, and his friends are never going to believe his story.

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