New Zealand rescuers today saved the life of a humpback whale which had been entangled for at least two days in a heavy nylon rope.

A teenage girl bitten by a shark told today how she fought off the creature, smashing it over the head with her body board until it let her go.

Wildlife officers shot 41 pilot whales beached on New Zealand’s South Island, ending their suffering after the sea was deemed to rough to try to rescue them.