More than 80 whales stranded off India’s southern coast

NEW DELHI – More than 80 whales have washed ashore on India's southern coast, officials said today 
The short-finned pilot whales began washing up on beaches last evening, said Mr M Ravi Kumar, the top government official in the southeastern port town of Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu state.
Short-finned pilot whales travel in groups or pods, and the absence of a leader confuses the group, he said.
Local officials have asked experts from a nearby marine park to help them assess why the whales are washing up ashore and to help return them to the ocean as quickly as possible.
Local records show that the last time whales washed up on the beaches of Tuticorin in large numbers was in 1973, Mr Kumar said. AP