Humpback Whale Mother Returns To Seafloor To Stay With Stillborn Calf

A female humpback whale was observed returning to the seafloor and remaining with her presumed stillborn calf in a rare case of post-mortem behaviour documented off the southern Gold Coast in 2025.

The mother was accompanied by an escort whale and stayed with the deceased calf for several hours and possibly even days. Researchers from Griffith University and Sea World Foundation said the observation may indicate grieving behaviour.

Dr Olaf Meynecke of Griffith University’s Whales and Climate Research Program said similar post-mortem attention had mainly been documented among toothed whales, while research on baleen whales such as humpbacks has been largely absent.

Unlike toothed whales whose mothers have been seen lifting dead calves to the surface, the humpback mother remained underwater, stayed close to the calf, maintained eye contact and positioned herself beside it.

“These observed behaviours were consistent with care-giving or nurturing actions and post-mortem attentive responses documented in socially complex mammals, and indicated an inherent, strong maternal attachment to the calf,” Meynecke said.

Sea World Foundation Rescue Boat Captain Andrew Mulville witnessed the event.

“When I actually worked out what was happening, I was totally surprised,” he said. “At first sight, I thought it was just two whales resting on the surface, but their behaviour was unusual.”

Researchers said such observations are rare and could help expand understanding of death-related responses, cognitive abilities and emotional lives among baleen whales.

The study, titled “First documentation of humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) post-mortem attendance of a still born,” was published in Discover Animals.