U.S. probes deaths of 30 whales along southern Alaska coast

News.yahoo.com reports:

U.S. marine biologists have launched an investigation into the mass die-off of 30 whales found washed ashore along Alaska's southern coast this summer, nearly three times the region's average for this time of year, a federal official said on Friday.

Since May 2015, the carcasses of 11 fin whales, 14 humpback whales, one gray whale, and four other whales of indeterminate species turned up along the western Gulf of Alaska, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

NOAA declared the cluster of whale deaths "an unusual mortality event" on Thursday, triggering a formal agency inquiry into the strandings that will bring together federal and local experts in a specially funded team.

"While we do not yet know the cause of these strandings, our investigations will give us important information on the health of whales and the ecosystems where they live," said Teri Rowles, a NOAA marine mammal health and stranding response coordinator...