If you find a live dolphin or whale stranded on a beach near Chennai, call the Tamil Nadu Forest Department’s 24×7 helpline, 1800 425 4409, keep people and dogs back, and keep the animal’s skin wet without covering its blowhole. The Forest Department is legally responsible for marine mammals on the coast. Volunteer networks such as the TREE Foundation, based in Chennai, usually do the hands-on work.
Dolphins and whales are protected wildlife, and they strand along this coast more often than most residents realise. TREE Foundation has recorded stranded whales, dolphins and porpoises along the Tamil Nadu coast since 2005. It lists 14 cetacean species from about 700 km of the Coromandel coast, according to its marine mammal programme page. Here is what lives offshore, what recent strandings looked like, and how to help.
What lives off the Chennai coast
The TREE Foundation’s records include these species:
- Dolphins: Risso’s, bottlenose, common, tropical spotted, Indo-Pacific humpback and spinner dolphins.
- Porpoise: the finless porpoise.
- Whales: blue, sperm, Bryde’s (tropical), Cuvier’s beaked, sei, short-finned pilot, pygmy sperm and dwarf sperm whales.
- Shark: the whale shark, which is a fish but is tracked by the same team.
Live sightings from the shore are uncommon off the city itself. Fishers working further out see dolphin pods far more often than beachgoers do.
Recent strandings near Chennai
| When | Where | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| June 2021 | Marakkanam, about 80 km south | A decomposed baleen whale carcass of 20-22 metres washed ashore and was buried by foresters |
| December 2023 | Chinnandi Kuppam, Chengalpattu district | A sub-adult Risso’s dolphin, about 480 kg, found dead; post-mortem suggested drowning, possibly in fishing gear |
| August 2024 | Perunduravu, south of Kalpakkam | A live melon-headed whale, about 5 feet long, carried past the breakers and released |
The 2024 rescue shows what works. Fishermen tried to push the whale back but it kept stranding itself. Two TREE Foundation volunteers then carried it beyond the breakers and watched from shore for an hour until it swam away, DT Next reported. It had wounds on its snout of the kind that often come from net entanglement. In the 2023 case, the dolphin was buried 50 metres above the high-tide line in the presence of a forest guard, DT Next reported.
The 2021 Marakkanam report recalled the last mass stranding in Tamil Nadu, in 2016 near Manapad on the Thoothukudi coast, where more than 40 whales died, according to DT Next.
Why they strand
TREE Foundation lists the usual causes: infectious disease, swallowed marine debris, starvation, pollution, boat strikes and fishing-gear entanglement, underwater noise, harmful algal blooms and unusual weather or ocean events. Entanglement is a growing worry, because the longer rope or net stays attached the worse the injury. Globally, scientists estimate about 300,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises die each year from entanglement or bycatch, a May 2026 DT Next commentary noted.
If you find a stranded dolphin or whale
- Call for help first. Ring the Forest Department helpline. The TREE Foundation network informs the local Divisional Forest Officer, Wildlife Warden or Range Officer immediately, its programme page says.
- Keep the crowd back. Noise, flash photography and touching stress the animal. Keep dogs leashed and away.
- Keep it wet and shaded. Pour seawater over the body and drape wet cloth over the back and fins, but never over the blowhole on top of the head.
- Keep it upright. If it is lying on its side, do not try to roll it alone. Wait for the team.
- Do not drag it by the tail or flippers, and do not push it back into the surf. As the Kalpakkam case showed, a sick animal often re-strands.
- Note the details. Time, exact place, rough length and any wounds or nets help the responders.
For a dead animal, do not cut or take any part. Body parts of protected species cannot be kept. Report it so officials can record it and arrange burial or a post-mortem.
Turtles use the same network
The same coastal volunteers handle sea turtles. Their Sea Turtle Protection Force has 411 members from 285 villages, and its SOS line for stranded turtles is +91 99400 26460, the foundation says. Dead Olive Ridleys found on the Chennai and Chengalpattu coast fell from 703 in 2024-25 to 382 in 2025-26, DT Next reported in May 2026.
Quick answers
Are there dolphins off Chennai?
Yes. At least six dolphin species have been recorded along this coast, though they are rarely seen from city beaches.
Who do I call about a stranded dolphin?
The Tamil Nadu Forest Department helpline, 1800 425 4409.
Should I push a stranded dolphin back into the sea?
Not on your own. Keep it wet and upright and wait for trained responders.
Can I keep a bone or tooth from a dead whale?
No. Parts of protected wildlife cannot be collected.
Information checked against official sources on 18 October 2026. Fees, dates and rules can change; confirm on the linked official pages before acting.
Sources
- Marine Mammal Conservation (TREE Foundation India)
- Melon-headed whale rescued near Kalpakkam (DT Next, August 2024)
- Carcass of Risso’s dolphin washed ashore (DT Next, December 2023)
- Plea for conservation as carcass of baleen whale washes ashore in Marakkanam (DT Next, June 2021)
- TREE Foundation’s coastal vigil cuts Olive Ridley fatality by nearly 46% (DT Next, May 2026)
- Organisation and helpline (Tamil Nadu Forest Department)
- Saving entangled marine giants: early intervention matters (DT Next, May 2026)
