Brisbane. The sea off Australia's Gold Coast is surprisingly calm on this winter morning. Two humpback whales swim through the shallow waters off Palm Beach Reef. One always stays in one place on the seabed. A small camera is lowered there - and shows an image that even experienced whale watchers will be moved by: a dead calf lies on the bottom.
The young humpback whale repeatedly dives down and touches the body with her head and pectoral fin. She lies down next to the calf, eye to eye. She stays near him for almost two hours. A second adult whale swims with her. Vocalizations can also be heard.
“For me, their search for physical contact and the attempt to make eye contact with the deceased calf was surprising, but also the duration of the behavior - for hours and probably even for days,” said the German-Australian marine biologist Olaf Meynecke from Griffith University to the German Press Agency.
He evaluated the observation together with whale rescuer Andrew Mulville and wrote a study. According to the researchers, it is the first detailed documented case of such behavior in a humpback whale.
There's a big question behind the scene at the bottom of the ocean: Can animals mourn? That's a difficult question to answer: no one can ask a whale what's going on inside it. Researchers can only observe what an animal does - and try to cautiously infer its internal state.
In any case, the female did not try to bring the dead calf to the surface of the water. Normally, mother animals help their newborn calves take their first breath. “We have two theories,” said Meynecke. "It may be that the mother was not able to bring it upstairs, but that speaks against the fact that we were unable to document such an attempt. Or she was aware that it was no longer alive."
The behavior is reminiscent of other mammals. Orcas are particularly impressive: In 2018, the female Tahlequah carried her dead calf on her snout and forehead for 17 days off the coast of North America, covering more than 1,500 kilometers. It repeatedly lifted the body out of the water when it threatened to sink. Scientists spoke of a “tour of grief” - a mourning journey. Pilot whales and dolphins have also been observed carrying dead young animals with them for long periods of time. For humpback whales the data is thinner.
“From personal experience, I am very sure that other species, and mammals in general, also perceive the loss of a member of their species, and this leads to behavior that can be described as sadness or depression,” said Meynecke. The sensations are probably different than in humans, but the effects are often similar - such as refusing to eat.
The story of the chimpanzee child Flint is particularly dramatic. When his mother Flo died in Tanzania's Gombe National Park, her then eight-year-old son became increasingly isolated. World-renowned primatologist Jane Goodall watched as Flint repeatedly went to his dead mother. Then he stopped eating - a few weeks later he was dead himself. Goodall later said that Flint died of a broken heart.
And what about pets? In a study from Australia and New Zealand with 159 dogs and 152 cats, owners reported, among other things, changed eating behavior when a companion died. In dogs, 35 percent ate less and 31 percent more slowly. Cats also showed changes: many meowed more often and louder. Both species sought out the favorite places of their dead conspecifics.
Elephants, in turn, gather around carcasses, touch, sniff and guard them and always return to the dead. It was also observed how elephants tried to support dying animals or carry away dead calves. Sometimes they cover deceased members of their species with soil or plants. But no one can know whether this actually corresponds to the human idea of burial.
An impressive case occurred in Kenya in 2013. When the 55-year-old elephant Victoria died, the matriarch's family did not leave her side. Victoria's ten-year-old daughter Noor stayed with her for a long time, her 13-year-old son Malasso even poked her mother with his tusks - probably in an attempt to get her up again. Weeks later, researcher Shifra Goldenberg observed an even more surprising scene: Even elephants from other families were still seeking out Victoria's remains.
What triggers such behavior? At this point, science has reached its limits. Maybe it's not about farewell as people understand it. But if grief means not being able to easily let go of someone who has died, then many animals probably come pretty close to that definition.
