Scientists observed two whales for several hours after what appeared to be a stillborn calf, and although they have no way of directly measuring the emotional state of the animals, behaviors indicate that humpback whales maintain strong maternal bonds even after the death of a calf — Photo: Westend61/Getty
It was a tragic scene. In July last year, a newborn humpback whale calf lay motionless on the seabed, just a kilometer off the Gold Coast, in Australia. The moment was recorded using an underwater video.
For more than an hour, the mother repeatedly returned to the same spot, gently touching the calf with her head and pectoral fin and resting next to it, eye to eye. Our new research suggests this is the first described case of a humpback mother caring for a stillborn calf.
This encounter offers a rare insight into one of the least understood aspects of whale behavior: how these highly social animals react to death.
And this raises the question: do whales, and other highly social animals such as elephants, suffer from grief?
Humpback whale swims with newborn calf in Leblon — Photo: Reproduction/TV Globo
Solidarity creatures
Humpback whales are famous for their spectacular migrations and acrobatic jumps. But they are equally notable for the way they react to other animals in danger.
Humpback whales often defend their calves from orcas. Researchers have also observed that they remain alongside whales that are injured or entangled in nets, swimming in circles around them, resting nearby and trying to help. Humpback whales can even intervene when orcas attack seals, sea lions and gray whale calves.
These care and attention responses are known as epimeletic behavior and are common among cetaceans, a group of marine mammals that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. Dolphins and orcas often remain close to companions in distress, demonstrating their strong social bonds. These animals can even risk their own lives for others. This happened in April off the northwest coast of Scotland, when several pilot whales became stranded after following a female who was giving birth.
Female orcas have been seen carrying their dead babies for hours, days and even weeks — Photo: Rafael Mesquita
When a whale loses a calf
Orca mothers have been repeatedly observed carrying their dead babies for hours, days and, in exceptional cases, weeks. The most famous example is the orca Tahlequah, who, in 2018, carried her dead calf for 17 days, covering more than 1,500 kilometers. Scientists have observed similar behavior in pilot whales and dolphins.
These prolonged grief reactions illustrate the strength of the bond between mother and calf. Maternal instincts and hormonal changes after birth may contribute to mothers remaining close to their deceased offspring. But what exactly animals understand about death remains unknown.
Until now, scientists have documented these epilemetic behaviors almost exclusively in relation to dead toothed whale calves. Research on baleen whales, including humpbacks, is scarce. This is probably due to the fact that dead newborn baleen whales often sink quickly, making such cases extremely difficult to observe.
Humpback mothers give birth after almost a year of gestation and spend the following months feeding their calf nutrient-rich milk. Soon after giving birth, mothers usually lift the calf to the surface to help it take its first breath. During the first months of its life, the calf depends entirely on its mother for food, protection and guidance during migration.
Unfortunately, some cubs do not survive. This could be due to disease, pollutants, or the mother's lack of fat reserves, which help female whales cope better with pregnancy and better care for their young.
A first for humpback whales
Our new study aimed to help fill this gap in research.
We observed two adult whales off the coast of the Gold Coast in northeastern Australia. The two remained in the same area for several hours after what appeared to be a stillborn calf case. The female humpback whale released an amniotic membrane shortly after giving birth, but no placenta was observed.
Underwater footage revealed the calf resting motionless on the seabed as the supposed mother repeatedly approached it. She remained close to the cub, continuing to touch it with her head and pectoral fin. A second adult whale, likely an escort, also remained nearby.
The mother humpback did not attempt to take her calf to the ocean surface. This may indicate that she recognized that the calf had died or that she was unable to carry it from the sea floor.
Members of the public reported that two adult humpback whales remained in the area over the next two days. Our research team, however, was unable to confirm whether they were the same animals.
Do whales mourn?
To our knowledge, this is the first detailed scientific study of a mother humpback whale caring for her deceased newborn calf. It offers crucial insight into how baleen whales deal with death.
Many of the behaviors we observed – including remaining close to the calf and suspending normal behaviors such as traveling or socializing with other whales – resemble how other species react to death. Elephants, great apes, and some species of toothed whales care for dead calves in similar ways.
But we can't directly measure the whales' emotional state. The behaviors we observe may represent grief, but they may also reflect maternal attachment, confusion, or instinctual care. For this reason, researchers use broader terms – such as caring post-death behavior – rather than concluding that whales experience grief in a human sense.
These behaviors, however, reveal that humpback whales maintain strong maternal bonds even after the death of a calf. Our study suggests that similar cases may have gone unnoticed because scientists rarely observe whale births at sea.
The good news is that researchers are increasingly able to observe these animals as whale populations recover and scientific equipment makes studies at sea more feasible.
So while there is still much to learn about whales, their emotional lives may be infinitely more complex than we imagined.
Elephants care for their young in a similar way to whales — Photo: wrangel/Getty
Olaf Meynecke receives funding from a private charitable foundation through the Whale and Climate Research Program. He is affiliated with the NGO Humpbacks & Highrises.
