Mexico's Rafael Ortiz has become the second person to plunge in a kayak from Washington's Palouse Falls and paddle safely to shore. At 189 feet, Palouse Falls is 17 feet higher than Niagra Falls.



The feat would have tied a world record but because Ortiz was thrown briefly from his kayak upon impact it's merely a remarkable accomplishment that produced an adrenaline rush for the ages.

"Let's face it, it's pretty scary, man!" Ortiz stated on the Red Bull website. "It's pretty far from human limits. You're not supposed to do these kinds of things!"

Montana's Tyler Bradt, 34, is the record holder for negotiating the same waterfall in April of 2009.

Ortiz, 24, is working with fellow paddler Rush Sturges on a documentary titled, "Chasing Waterfalls," which entails conquering some of the biggest waterfalls on the planet.

The daredevil started running giant waterfalls five years ago and prior to conquering Palouse Falls he safely descended the 130-foot Big Banana Falls on the Alseseca River in Veracruz, Mexico.

Of the moment of impact at Palouse Falls Ortiz said, "It's a pretty big hit. Your natural reflex is to be terrified and to close your eyes, hug yourself and your boat and pray. "But what you have to do is keep your eyes open , and really focus on your target.

"You need to end up hugging your boat and lean as far forward as possible, flat on the boat. You have to hold on to your paddle as well. There's so much happening when you land that you can end up behind the waterfall so you have to have your paddle. The impact wasn't so bad, though. I think I've had worse from other waterfalls."

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A beglua whale calf born Friday night at the Georgia Aquarium has died, despite receiving 24-hour nurturing from animal care experts at the Atlanta facility.

"This is an extremely sad day for the Georgia Aquarium family. Over the past few days, our veterinary and animal care teams have been giving around-the-clock care to Maris and her calf," Gregory Bossart, chief veterinary officer, said in a news release issued Wednesday. "We initially became concerned when the calf was born and needed assistance from the divers to bring it to the surface to breathe.

"The calf was significantly underweight and appeared to have a significant number of medical issues. Based on our knowledge of healthy calves, we knew this calf would probably not survive, but our hearts gave us hope that she might be able to pull through. Our primary concern now is the well-being of Maris."

Animal care experts at Georgia Aquarium tend to the female beluga whale calf over the weekend, with the mother watching on. Credit: Georgia Aquarium

Maris is the 17-year-old mother beluga whale. She and Beethoven, the 19-year-old father, are the only captive-born beluga whales to have naturally produced a calf.

The female calf emerged from her mother in a weakened state and weighing only 82 pounds. Her tail flukes were too soft for her to navigate through the water on her own.

Her death is not surprising considering that first-born beluga whales often do not survive, in the wild and in captivity.

Maris was closely monitored throughout her pregnancy. The calf was carried to full-term.

"A better understanding of belugas is critical to conserve and protect the species," said William Hurley, chief zoology officer. "When we can study and observe belugas in human care, we continue to gain a better understanding of their biology, physiology and the diseases that affect them, all with the goal of learning how to help these populations in their natural habitats."

Of the calf he added: "Even through her short life, Georgia Aquarium was provided the rare opportunity to advance the zoological community's knowledge about the reproductive health of beluga whales."

Georgia Aquarium is one of only seven accredited North American aquariums and zoos committed to public display and breeding of beluga whales.

A necropsy is being conducted by Aquarium veterinarians and specialists from University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine.

The beluga whale exhibit was closed Wednesday and Maris remained under close observation.

Gary Connery on Wednesday became the first skydiver to make a successful landing without a parachute. The British stuntman leaped from a helicopter at 2,400 feet, used a wingsuit to fly instead of plummet, and landed on a runway made of more than 18,000 cardboard boxes.



The well-planned stunt, which was completed in less than a minute, was performed over Connery's hometown of Oxfordshire, England.

Afterward Connery told the BBC: "I have been training and planning for this record attempt for many years now and I am so proud to have achieved a world first.

"I want to thank everyone involved for their support and belief in me because this really has been a team effort."

His wive Vivian stated that she was "relieved it's all over."

Connery, however, added without providing details that he's already plotting his next challenge.

The daredevil, who has worked on several films, has made about 880 skydiving jumps, and about half as many base jumps.

Australian authorities have assured swimmers and surfers at Bondi Beach that lifeguards routinely patrol for sharks after footage surfaced recently, showing a massive great white savagely attacking a smaller blue shark attached to a line alongside a fishing boat.



The incident near Sydney occurred several months ago but the footage wasn't posted until this month, and it has stirred emotions about the possibility of such enormous predators lurking so close to shore off Australia's busiest beach.

"We share the water with the sharks and there's no getting away from that," a spokesman for the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries told the Herald Sun. "We run regular patrols along the beach and out further through the bay to make sure our swimmers are protected from any threat."

Henry Minter, one of the fishermen who was aboard the boat, said the encounter took place only 200 meters, or about the shake of a tail, beyond the shore. He estimated the shark's length to be at least 18 feet.

"We were fishing off the coast of Bondi Beach and were on board a 32-foot powerboat," he said, via email. "Shortly after catching a small blue shark we tied a rope off to it's tail and the large great white appeared obviously attracted by the frenzy of the blue shark.

"We were amazed as the shark bit the whole blue shark in half and proceeded to play tug of war with us with the remaining tail half. Never seen anything this big so close to Sydney and has been a real shock to the Sydney fishing and surfing community."

Experts who viewed the video could not verify it was, in fact, Bondi, but there is little reason to doubt the location, since white sharks are known to frequent that part of the Australian coast.

What's incredible is the power and fierce determination of the predator as it tries to devour the blue shark, which was tied tail-first to a thick rope.

What seems incredibly risky are the actions of the fishermen, who traded turns trying to touch the larger shark's snout.

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The Georgia Aquarium on Friday night welcomed into the world its first-ever beluga whale calf -- and ever since its staff has worked around the clock to keep the prized mammal alive.

The beluga baby, the first to be born from parents who were born in captivity, emerged from her mother in a weakened state and weighing only 82 pounds. The female calf is said to be in critical condition and under 24-hour veterinary care.

Image shows beluga whale calf being born Friday night at at Georgia Aquarium

This is not surprising, considering that newborn beluga whales often do not survive with first-time mothers, in the wild and in captivity.

But the Georgia Aquarium staff, which anticipated a life struggle, worked during the pregnancy to train the mother how to nurse and care for her first baby, which was conceived naturally and not through artificial insemination -- a rarity among captive belugas.

It also placed divers in the water at the time of birth, to help the female calf surface and take her first breaths.

Divers help the beluga whale calf take her first breaths

Because the calf is too weak to nurse, the staff is feeding her a mineral-rich formula from colostrum collected from the mother, whose name is Maris.

"Since the moment of birth, our animal care and veterinary teams have been giving around-the-clock care to Maris and her calf, taking every measure possible to ensure that the calf thrives," said Dr. Gregory Bossart, the aquarium's senior vice president and chief veterinary officer. "We became concerned when the calf didn't demonstrate that it could swim alongside its mother. Without our response, this calf would not have survived."

There is some promise, as Maris' maternal instincts are becoming more evident, according to the aquarium blog.

"Given that this is Maris' first pregnancy, we are certainly pleased to see the development of her maternal behavior," stated William Hurley, chief zoological officer. "[But] there are many milestones over the next several days and weeks that this calf must surpass, that will be extremely critical to its survival. We are hoping for the best, but the reality of the situation is, we still have a long way to go."

There are only six facilities in North America that contain belugas, and only a handful of births occur each year. Maris was born at the New York Aquarium in 1994, and the father, Beethoven, was born at SeaWorld San Antonio in 1992. Beethoven is the first beluga calf to be born in captivity.

As for the unnamed calf, she has received overwhelming support among fans who have visited the aquarium's Facebook page.

Writes Cathi Muckerman: "Fight, Baby Girl!!! Thoughts and prayers being sent to all involved in the care of this very special creature."

Adds Heather McRae Vence: "Welcome to the family little girl. We have been so excited to meet you for months. You have my family's prayers. I know the staff is taking amazing care of you."

There was little change in the calf's condition as of late Tuesday morning and Hurley said the 24-hour care will continue for Maris and her baby for "as long as is required."

-- Images are courtesy of the Georgia Aquarium

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