Scientists have gotten the best estimates yet of exactly how much baleen whales, the largest animals on the planet, can consume in one day. Their caloric intake is mind-boggling.

Are you terrified yet? Because we certainly are. Scientists even named their discovery of a 43 million-year-old fossil after Anubis, an Egyptian god associated with death.

Michael Packard says he was trapped in the whale's mouth for 30 to 40 seconds before it tossed him back in the water, bruised but otherwise unharmed. Experts tell NPR such events are extremely rare.

An international team of scientists is preparing to trap a dozen baleen whales off the coast of Norway and conduct hearing tests on them. It could inform decisions on military and business projects.

Belugas play, a sperm whale nurses, and orcas teach their pups to hunt in a series of photographs from National Geographic photographer and explorer Brian Skerry.

The Rice's whale can grow to 42 feet and is critically endangered, with fewer than 100 left.

The Sri Lankan navy and local villagers rescued more than 100 short-finned pilot whales that became stranded on a beach south of the capital, Colombo.

"While they are still alive and in water, there is certainly hope for them, but as time goes on, they become more fatigued and their chance of survival reduces," said a government wildlife official.

A drop in shipping traffic is reducing underwater noise, so scientists are listening for how whales and other marine life are responding.