UK scientists bid to solve mystery deaths of hundreds of baby southern right whales

Two-year project aims to learn why carcasses have washed up on Argentina's coast

Researchers are to launch an investigation into the unexplained deaths of hundreds of young southern right whales, one of the planet's most vulnerable marine species.

The 740,000 project - jointly funded by Defra, the UK environment department, and the EU - will involve researchers tagging whales and calves, tracking them by satellite and identifying individuals by taking DNA samples. The aim is find out why the carcasses of almost 500 young southern right whales have washed up on Argentina's Valdi(C)s Peninsula, one of the species' key calving areas, over the past decade.