Humpback Whale Seen Grieving Dead Calf in Rare Footage: "Heartbreaking to Watch"
- On Wednesday, researchers published a study in Discover Animals documenting a humpback whale mother exhibiting possible "grief behaviours" toward her stillborn calf off the coast of southeastern Australia in July 2025.
- Whale rescue boat captain Andrew Mulville captured footage of the female hovering over her newborn's motionless body on the seafloor, while accompanied by an "escort" that stayed nearby.
- Griffith University scientist Olaf Meynecke noted the behavior lasted for at least 90 minutes. Unlike toothed whales, the mother did not attempt to lift the calf, suggesting she realized it died during birth.
- Providing insight into "post-mortem attentive responses," the study noted that humpbacks possess "spindle neurons"—which underpin empathy—similar to other socially complex mammals that guard their dead.
- Associate Professor Rebecca Dunlop of the University of Queensland cautioned that "descriptive case studies reporting the potential for animal emotions run the risk of anthropomorphising." She noted that terms like "grief" must be used with caution.
39 Articles
39 Articles
The video shows a humpback whale with her newborn baby, who died shortly after birth.One study analyzed the images and documented the mother's behavior in the face of her baby's death.
The images, recorded off the coast of Australia's Gold Coast last year, show a humpback whale female swimming near the dead calf lying motionless at the bottom of the sea. Accompanied by another whale, the female maintains visual contact with the animal and touches it with her head and fin. "At first I thought they were just two whales resting, but their behavior was unusual," said Andrew Mulville of Sea World Foundation, who witnessed the heart…
Humpback whale in wild observed greiving for stillborn calf
By Stephen Beech A humpback whale has been observed grieving for her stillborn calf. It is the first filmed evidence that baleen whales mourn the loss of a loved one, say ecologists. The emotional scenes of a female humpback whale,…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 64% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
