Rare footage shows humpback mother tending to her dead calf off Queensland

During a July 2025 rescue mission off Palm Beach, Queensland, Andrew Mulville encountered a newborn humpback calf that had died shortly after birth and rested on the seafloor. Marine biologist Olaf Meynecke observed the mother whale repeatedly diving to the calf, making eye contact and placing her pectoral fin over the body, then remaining nearby for days with a male companion. This prolonged attendance is the first detailed record of a baleen whale appearing to mourn a dead offspring, a behavior previously only noted in some toothed whales.

The rarity of such sightings is linked to the fact that newborn baleen whales lack enough fat to keep their bodies buoyant after death. While the scientists believe the observed whales were the calf’s parents, they stress the need to avoid anthropomorphizing the actions. The finding adds a new dimension to understanding emotional capacities in large marine mammals.