Beached whales in India
More than 80 whales have washed ashore on India's southern coast, officials said Jan. 12, 2016. Officials are unsure what caused the whales to beach themselves.
In this photo, people look at one among the dozens of whales that have washed ashore on the Bay of Bengal coast's Manapad beach in Tuticorin district, Tamil Nadu state, India.
Whales beached in India
A whales lies onshore that along the Bay of Bengal coast at the Manapad beach in Tuticorin district, Tamil Nadu state, India, Jan.12, 2016.
The top government official in the southeastern port town of Tuticorin said the short-finned pilot whales began washing up on beaches Monday evening, Jan. 11.
Whales beached in India
Indian fishermen try to drag a whale that washed ashore in Manapad in Tamil Nadu's Tuticorin district, some 600 km south of Bangalore, on January 12, 2016.
Rescuers took at least 36 of the whales back out to sea, but many appeared disoriented and found their way back to the beach.
Whales beached in India
One among the dozens of whales that have washed ashore on the Bay of Bengal coast at the Manapad beach in Tuticorin district, Tamil Nadu state, India, Jan.12, 2016.
Short-finned pilot whales travel in groups or pods, and the absence of a leader confuses the group, according government official M. Ravi Kumar.
Whales beached in India
Indian wildlife officials measure one of dozens of whales that washed ashore on the Bay of Bengal coast's Manapad beach in Tuticorin district, Tamil Nadu state, India, Jan.12, 2016.
Whales beached in India
People stand near two whales that washed ashore on the Bay of Bengal coast's Manapad beach in Tuticorin district, Tamil Nadu state, India, Jan.12, 2016.