40 ton whale smashes yacht, donkey parasails; what animal will fly next?

What's with all the flying animals lately?

At a resort in Russia earlier this week, a donkey flew.

The terrified, braying animal soared over sunbathers on the Sea of Azov, strapped to a parachute. The flying donkey turned out to be a PR stunt by an area resort to promote their parasailing.

IN PICTURES: Flying animals that aren't birds

Children on the beach cried to their parents, "Why did they tie a doggy to a parachute?" Russian newspaper Taman reported. Police have launched an animal cruelty investigation.

On Wednesday, a 40-ton whale flew into a boat. The breaching animal momentarily flew through the air and gracefully landed – on a South African couple's yacht.

The boat was damaged, but the couple and the whale continued on their separate ways – except for some blubber and barnacles the big guy left behind.

That's not all. In January, a panda took to the air.

The National Zoo in Washington's four-year-old panda, Tai Shan, flew FedEx Panda Express to Chengdu China for a breeding program. And Tai Shan wasn't the first panda to fly! FexEx also took Tai Shan's parents Mei Xiang and Tian Tian to the US in 2000.

And as the Discovery Channel prepares for Shark Week on Aug. 1, videographers will be experimenting with ways to better capture "Air Jaws" on film. A Great White shark can leap up to eight feet into the air. We think we'll give them flying credit for that.

Keep your eyes open for pigs. They're next.

Related:

• 40 ton whale nearly destroys sailboat off South African coast
• Penguin deaths on Brazil's beaches caused by unusual currents
• Blog: Move over blobfish, the fangtooth is scarier

IN PICTURES: Flying animals that aren't birds