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Australia Begins Euthanizing False Killer Whales after Mass Stranding

A undated handout photo made available by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas) on 19 February 2025 shows a person assisting a group of whales after they were stranded near Arthur River on Tasmania's west coast, Australia. EPA/DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT
A undated handout photo made available by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas) on 19 February 2025 shows a person assisting a group of whales after they were stranded near Arthur River on Tasmania's west coast, Australia. EPA/DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT
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Australia Begins Euthanizing False Killer Whales after Mass Stranding

A undated handout photo made available by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas) on 19 February 2025 shows a person assisting a group of whales after they were stranded near Arthur River on Tasmania's west coast, Australia. EPA/DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT
A undated handout photo made available by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas) on 19 February 2025 shows a person assisting a group of whales after they were stranded near Arthur River on Tasmania's west coast, Australia. EPA/DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT

Dozens of false killer whales stranded on a remote beach in the Australian state of Tasmania will be euthanized after bad weather and the isolated location hampered efforts to push them back into the waters, Australian authorities said on Thursday.
More than 150 endangered dolphins, known commonly as false killer whales due to their resemblance to killer whales, were found stranded this week in the island state's northwest coast near Arthur River, about 400 km (250 miles) from Tasmania's state capital, Hobart.
"The conditions that the team faced yesterday in attempts to refloat the whales proved very challenging and in fact, dangerous to our staff," Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service Brendon Clark said in a media briefing.
A total of 27 animals were euthanised on Thursday morning while 38 were still alive, Reuters quoted Clark as saying.
The euthanasia process is expected to finish later on Thursday.
Officials have said the stranding response would be complex due to the inaccessibility of the site, ocean conditions and the challenges of getting specialist equipment to the remote area.
The animals can grow up to 20 feet (6.1 m) long and weigh up to 3,000 lbs (1,361 kg). They are found in all tropical and subtropical oceans, generally in deep offshore waters, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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Hundreds of Firefighters Battling Wildfire in Southern France

An Airbus H125 helicopter drops water over a wildfire in Saint-Julien Les Martigues, northwest of Marseille in southern France on July 18, 2025. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP)
An Airbus H125 helicopter drops water over a wildfire in Saint-Julien Les Martigues, northwest of Marseille in southern France on July 18, 2025. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP)
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Hundreds of Firefighters Battling Wildfire in Southern France

An Airbus H125 helicopter drops water over a wildfire in Saint-Julien Les Martigues, northwest of Marseille in southern France on July 18, 2025. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP)
An Airbus H125 helicopter drops water over a wildfire in Saint-Julien Les Martigues, northwest of Marseille in southern France on July 18, 2025. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP)

Nearly 1,000 firefighters and helicopters battled a wildfire about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of France's second-largest city Marseille on Friday, but officials said lower temperatures and increased humidity had improved the situation.

The 240-hectare (593 acres) wildfire flared up a week after a separate conflagration reached the northwestern outskirts of Marseille, forcing people to evacuate or into lockdown and temporarily shuttering the area's airport.

Pierre Bepoix, the colonel of rescue operations and deputy director for the area's firefighters, said 150 people had been evacuated, but firefighters had managed to save 150 homes and portions of the area's forests.

"It was a fire that swept through relatively dense vegetation ... which made our work particularly complicated," Bepoix told Reuters. "Obviously, priority was given to the preservation and protection of these homes and the lives that could be in these buildings."

Local officials said in a statement that 120 homes had been threatened by the fire, adding that it was not possible yet to identify any possible damage to them, and that two firefighters had been injured.

Meanwhile in Spain, a wildfire that broke out on Thursday evening in the central Toledo province and could be seen from downtown Madrid, ravaged 3,200 hectares of woodland.

Regional emergency services said early on Friday firefighters had secured the perimeter, though there were concerns over strong winds and high temperatures forecast throughout the day.