Scientists Detail Rare Footage of Mother Humpback Whale Tending Stillborn Calf Off Australia

Researchers have captured and detailed a rare instance of a mother humpback whale exhibiting sustained attention toward her stillborn calf off Australia's Gold Coast. The encounter, which was recorded near Palm Beach Reef in July 2025, represents the first scientifically documented case of such post-mortem behaviour in humpback whales, according to a study published in Discover Animals and reported by organizations including Griffith University, ABC News, and AAP.

The footage shows the mother repeatedly returning to the newborn calf, which was lying motionless on the seafloor with no visible signs of breathing or movement. Instead of swimming away, the mother approached the body multiple times, touching it with her head and pectoral fin, and positioning herself alongside it. During the encounter, which lasted for at least several hours, she occasionally remained almost motionless beside the newborn in what researchers described as maintaining potential eye-to-eye contact. Observers noted that an accompanying adult whale may have stayed in the area alongside the mother over subsequent days, though continuous tracking of the exact individuals could not be confirmed.

While responses to deceased members of the same species have been documented among socially complex, toothed mammals such as dolphins and killer whales, comparable observations are far less frequent among baleen whales. Scientists attribute this rarity partly to the challenges of observing open-ocean wildlife events, as well as biological factors. Because newborn humpback whales possess relatively little blubber, they can sink quickly after death, severing physical contact and limiting the window of opportunity for researchers or the public to witness subsequent events.

A particularly notable detail highlighted in the study is that the mother did not attempt to lift the calf to the surface. Healthy newborn humpback calves typically require maternal assistance to reach the surface to breathe, and mothers have previously been documented supporting live newborns. In this instance, however, the mother did not try to raise the calf from the seafloor. Researchers suggested this might indicate she recognized the calf was unresponsive, though they stressed that the observation cannot establish what the whale actually understood about the death.

When addressing whether the behavior signifies grief, scientists have maintained a cautious stance. The study utilizes the term "post-mortem attentive behaviour" to describe sustained engagement with a deceased individual, noting that the actions align with responses seen in other socially complex mammals. However, researchers emphasize that an animal's emotional state cannot be directly determined from behavioral observations alone. Alternative explanations considered by scientists include maternal attachment, caregiving instincts, confusion, or a physiological response to sudden newborn loss.

The findings provide an unusual window into the profound maternal investment of humpback whales when that bond is abruptly disrupted. Researchers hope that continued reporting and documentation of rare birth and mortality events will help determine whether such attentive responses occur more frequently among baleen whales than current scientific records indicate.