A female humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) remained beside the calf presumed dead for several hours and possibly days, in a post-mortem behavior rarely documented in this species. The episode was observed in 2025 off the Gold Coast, Australia, by investigators from Griffith University and the Sea World Foundation.
The female was accompanied by another whale, described as a companion, when she was observed beside the calf. According to the investigators, the mother remained close to the body, maintained visual contact, and positioned herself beside the calf for an extended period.
Olaf Meynecke, from Griffith University, explains that attention behaviors toward dead calves have already been documented mainly among toothed cetaceans, such as dolphins and other odontocete species. Among baleen whales, like humpback whales, there are far fewer records of this kind.
“Unlike reports about toothed cetaceans, in which mothers were observed transporting the dead calves to the surface, this humpback mother exhibited prolonged post-mortem behavior and remained attentive to the calf underwater,” the researcher states.
“She remained near the calf, maintaining visual contact and positioning herself beside it for several hours and perhaps even days,” he adds.
According to Meynecke, the observed behaviors were consistent with caregiving or protective actions and with post-mortem attention responses already described in other socially complex mammals. For the researcher, the episode indicates a strong maternal bond to the calf.
A Still Little-Known Behavior
The episode was witnessed by Andrew Mulville, captain of a Sea World Foundation rescue vessel.
“When I really realized what was happening, I was completely surprised,” he recalls.
“At first glance, I thought they were just two whales resting at the surface, but their behavior was unusual,” he adds.
“Definitely, it wasn’t what I expected to find at sea that day,” he says.
Researchers emphasize that observations of behavioral responses to death among baleen whales remain scarce. Records such as this can help improve understanding of the cognitive abilities and social relationships of these animals, although they do not, themselves, allow concluding that the whale experienced human emotions such as grief.
“This case study highlights the need to continue systematically documenting rare neonatal mortality events, to better understand the cognitive, emotional, and evolutionary meaning of post-mortem behavior in great whales,” Meynecke says.
“Understanding how non-human animals respond to death provides insights into their emotional life, their social bonds and their cognitive abilities,” he concludes.
The study, titled First documentation of humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) post-mortem attendance of a still born, was published in the journal Discover Animals.
