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Humpback Mother Observed Grieving Stillborn Calf off Australia’s Gold Coast
By Drooid · · How we work
New Footage Reveals Post-mortem Attentive Behavior
Researchers released video footage captured off the southeastern Australian coast that shows a female humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) remaining close to her stillborn calf on the seafloor. The mother repeatedly dove, swam beside the calf, and moved a pectoral fin over the body before resurfacing. The behavior persisted for at least 90 minutes and may have continued for days, although the team left the site after roughly two hours of observation.
Observation Details
The encounter occurred in July 2025 when photographer Andrew Mulville, aboard a private boat, noticed two adult humpbacks near the surface. After spotting an amniotic membrane floating in the water, Mulville and colleagues followed the female underwater with a GoPro camera and located the lifeless calf on the seabed. The mother’s actions—short dives, brief rests beside the calf, and gentle fin contact—were interpreted as “postmortem attentive behavior,” a term the authors use to describe grieving-like responses.
Scientific Context and Rarity
Only about 20 humpback births have been documented in scientific literature, and none previously involved a stillborn calf. Unlike toothed whales, newborn humpbacks lack sufficient blubber to stay afloat, causing stillborn calves to sink rapidly and evade detection. This makes the present footage the first detailed, species-specific record of a humpback mother’s response to a deceased offspring. Similar grieving behaviors have been noted in other mammals, such as elephants, apes, and orcas, but observations at sea are exceptionally scarce.
Researchers’ Interpretation
The study’s first author, marine ecologist Olaf Meynecke of Griffith University, emphasizes that the mother’s sustained proximity suggests a strong maternal bond and provides a rare window into baleen whales’ behavioral responses to death. He notes that the accompanying adult whale likely acted as an “escort,” a common social role during humpback migrations, and that both adults were observed in the area for the following two days, indicating continued emotional investment.
Verbatim Quotes
- “At first sight, I thought it was just two whales resting on the surface, but their behaviour was unusual,” — Andrew Mulville
- “It was definitely not what I was expecting to see out at sea that day.” — Researchers
- “She was repeatedly diving down for short times and swimming next to the calf, then resting next to it on the floor for about a minute, even moving the pectoral fin over the calf, then diving up again,” — Olaf Meynecke, study first author
- “It provides a rare window into the behavioural response of baleen [filter-feeding] whales toward a deceased member of their species but also in this case of a mother toward her calf,” — Olaf Meynecke, study first author
The research was published on September 16, 2026 in the journal *Discover Animals*, adding a significant case study to the growing body of evidence that complex emotional behaviors are not limited to terrestrial mammals.