Humpback Whale Mother Documented Caring for Stillborn Calf off Gold Coast

A female humpback whale was captured on video interacting with her newborn calf, which lay motionless on the seafloor just a kilometre off the coast. While toothed whales and dolphins have frequently been observed exhibiting post-mortem attentive behavior, marine scientists say this is the first documented instance of such actions in a baleen whale.

Rare Underwater Footage Captures Post-Mortem Attentive Behavior

The rare moment unfolded after Andrew Mulville from Sea World Foundation witnessed the heart-wrenching moment out at sea that day. At first sight, I thought it was just two whales resting on the surface, but their behaviour was unusual, said Andrew Mulville. It was definitely not what I was expecting to see out at sea that day.

The footage, filmed in waters off Palm Beach in July last year, shows a whale interacting with its deceased calf immediately after giving birth. The mother approaches the calf several times, touching it with its head and fin, and then lies still alongside the newborn’s body. The female and another “escort” whale remained with the stillborn for at least two hours. Members of the public spotted two adult humpbacks in the same area over the next two days, although it was not confirmed if they were the same animals.

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Underwater footage revealed the newborn calf resting motionless on the seabed. The mother repeatedly approached the calf, touching it with her head and pectoral fin, and resting beside it eye-to-eye. A second adult whale, identified as an escort, remained nearby throughout the encounter.

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Observing a stillborn baleen whale is exceptionally difficult. It is extremely rare to witness, said study first author Olaf Meynecke, a marine ecologist at Griffith University’s Whales and Climate Research Program. Dr. Olaf Meynecke noted that the post-mortem attentive behaviour, sometimes referred to as grieving behaviour, shown towards the calf had not been seen in humpback whales before.

Dr. Meynecke co-authored a report of the encounter, published in the journal Discover Animals. It's really sad, Olaf Meynecke told AFP. It's pretty heartbreaking to watch this female making continuous contact with the deceased calf. Lead author Dr. Olaf Meynecke stated, ‘This humpback whale mother showed prolonged post–mortem behaviour and attention towards her deceased calf under the surface.’ He added, ‘She remained close to the calf, maintaining eye contact and positioning herself next to her calf over several hours and maybe even days.’

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These observed behaviours were consistent with care–giving or nurturing actions and post–mortem attentive responses documented in socially complex mammals, and indicated an inherent, strong maternal attachment to the calf. The footage shows a female humpback whale staying close to the dead calf as it lies motionless on the seafloor. Accompanied by a companion, the whale holds eye contact with the animal, touching it with its head and fin.

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The mother remained with the calf for several hours and possibly even days. The encounter offers a rare window into one of the least understood aspects of whale behaviour: how these highly social animals respond to death. Humpback whales often defend their calves from killer whales, and researchers have also observed them remaining alongside whales that are injured or entangled.