More than 90 whales have become stranded on Florida beaches in the past two months, almost three times the average, baffling marine biologists and making them wonder if a deadly common denominator is at play.
The series of cold fronts that marched across Florida in the past month could be a factor. "Any kind of front or a hurricane disorients the animals, and they come in," said Erin Fougeres, a marine mammal biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries.