Adorable Animal Pairs in Love

Friendliest Grey Whales In Mexico

The friendliest whales in the world: grey whales in Mexico

Tourists are greeted by a friendly grey whale whilst whale watching in San Ignacio Lagoon, Mexico

These wildlife enthusiasts were shown the impressive beasts by famous zoologist and BBC presenter Mark Carwardine who has been visiting the area for over 25-years.

Mark Carwardine said: "To have a huge, friendly whale willingly approach your boat and look you straight in the eye is without doubt one of the most extraordinary experiences on the planet."

"Sometimes they even let people rub their huge tongues or kiss them on the top of the head," said Mark, who co-presented the BBC 2 series Last Chance to See with Stephen Fry.

Mark is passionate about whale conservation and sees whale watching as an important way of increasing awareness and appreciation of these beautiful animals.

Among the many other species that come close are blue whales, and humpback whales, which often roll on their sides to look up at the passengers.

These whales begin their journey from the Bering Sea in the Arctic making it a 20,000km round trip, one of the longest migrations undertaken by any mammal. They set off down the Pacific coast in December and don't eat again until they return to their northern feeding grounds some five months later.

They love being stroked.....



and playful



They can just sense friendly humans



A great example of inter species bonding



This lady is in no danger at all

Underwater Wedding Irritates Turtle

He's a turtle maniac: Giant of the seas takes exception to an underwater wedding

The giant green sea turtle was unimpressed as the bride and groom made their way down the 'aisle'. For this was his patch and the loving couple weren't invited.

Kathryn O'Connor and James Oliver, who work at London's Sea Life Aquarium, were every bit the perfect couple as they celebrated their big day with an underwater blessing.

Deep interest: A giant green sea turtle joins Kathryn O'Connor's wedding procession for her underwater blessing with groom James Oliver

Love bite: The turtle sinks its teeth into Kathryn's bridal gown and starts to drag her away from partner James

Close attendance: Kathryn gets into a bit of a spin as the turtle pays her a little too much attention

And all was going swimmingly as they processed arm-in-arm through the aquarium, surrounded by turtles, cow-nose rays and shoals of colourful tropical fish.

But not everyone was blissfully happy as the enormous turtle turned party-pooper and waded into the action, sinking his teeth into the bride's flowing gown, which was tucked beneath her breathing apparatus, and then tried to drag her away.

James, nattily dressed in sea blue tie, paddled to his bride's rescue and and the giant of the deep eventually turned...er...turtle.

Swept off her feet: James takes decisive action as the turtle and a cow-nose ray circle somewhat menacingly

Face off: Now the turtle decides to get between the wedding couple and throw his weight around

Ticklish situation: The bride and groom stroke the attendant's tummy before proceeding with the blessing

Top 9 Unique Structures To Be Built Soon

Construction technologies are advancing extremely quickly. Couple that with multi-billionnaires / deep-pocketed companies trying to outdo each other in the quest for the next standout design and you have a near-future filled with mile-high skyscrapers and buildings that no longer look like buildings.

Below are 9 strange and unique structures which have either been approved or are in the final stages of approval. some have already been partially constructed.

Welcome to the future landscape.

1. aqua, usa (website)

From a distance this skyscraper, to be completed in 2009 in chicago, will seem quite traditional. it’ll only be when you get close and look up that you can appreciate the ripple/jelly effect created by variously sized balconies from top to bottom.

2. residence antilia, india (architects’ website)

Construction has begun on residence antilia despite opposition from those who see it as an ‘excessive’ design in a city where more than 65% of the population live in slums. politics aside and after you recover from the initial shock of seeing a skyscraper that resembles an ikea cd rack, the building actually looks like it may succeed as a stunning, unique, green piece of architecture.

3. chicago spire, usa (website)

The phenomenal chicago spire, when completed in 2010, will be the world’s tallest residential building and the tallest building of any kind in the western world. seemingly modelled on the image of a giant drill poking through the ground, the 609m structure will dominate the chicago skyline.

4. cctv headquarters, china (website)

At a modest 234m the cctv building isn’t going to stand out from a distance. however the design and shape is a crowdstopper to say the least and will be another incredible addition to beijing’s skyline in time for the 2008 olympics. the shape, described as a ‘z criss-cross’ results in a very high, seemingly unsupported corner at the front. let’s hope there’s a glass floor up there.

5. regatta hotel, jakarta (website)

Taking on a nautical theme, the developers say the 10 smaller towers represent sailing boats whilst the larger building is ‘the lighthouse’. it’s the lighthouse that steals the show for me, possibly the most incredible looking structure i’ve seen for a long time. if it ends up looking anything close to these pictures i’ll be impressed.

6. russia tower, russia (architects’ website)

Topped with an observation deck over the city of moscow, russia tower will become the tallest building in europe when completed in 2012 and twice the height of the eiffel tower. construction has already started on this angular beast which was designed by foster & partners, also responsible for the gherkin and spaceport america, currently in development.

7. penang global city centre, malaysia (website)

Following months of speculation and sturdy opposition, this humungous project is in the final stages of approval and apparently construction will start very soon. even so, due to the size of the plan it will take at least 15 years to complete. resembling a sci-fi city, the area will be crowned by 2 x 200m towers and completely transform the small island of penang.

8. gazprom headquarters, russia (architects’ website)

This gigantic, 300m tall glass flame of a building will house the gazprom headquarters in st. petersburg, dwarfing all structures in its vicinity. it will apparently change colour up to 10 times per day depending on the position of the sun. the building has already been nicknamed ‘corn on the cob’ by unhappy locals.

9. burj dubai, dubai (website)

This is the big one. when completed next year it will be the tallest man-made structure in the world and the tallest building by a long shot with a predicted height of 818m. note: currently the tallest building on earth, excluding an antenna, is taipei 101 in taiwan which stands at 509m. the photo below is the building’s current state: the skyscrapers below the burj dubai used to look tall.