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ScienceQuiet 43h · day 8

Researchers document humpback whale grieving stillborn calf in rare footage

Scientists captured video of a mother whale staying with her dead newborn for days, showing apparent grief-like behavior never before witnessed in the species.

newest coverage 1d agosummary written 7d ago75 pieces32 likes & upvotes4 comments NewswiresHacker NewsMastodonGoogle News

What to know

  • A female humpback whale documented off Australia's Gold Coast in July 2025 remained with her stillborn calf for at least two days, repeatedly diving to touch and make eye contact with the body—the first recorded instance of such behavior in humpback whales.
  • The mother's failure to push the calf to the surface suggests she recognized it was dead shortly after birth, behavior distinct from normal humpback maternal responses.
  • Scientists emphasize the actions may represent grief-related behavior reflecting the emotional and social complexity of whales, while cautioning against anthropomorphizing the observations.
  • Seven other deceased humpback whale neonates were observed in the same Queensland region during July 2025, raising questions about an unusual cluster of stillbirths and abnormal breeding location shifts.

“It is extremely rare to witness. Only about 20 births of humpback whales have been observed to date and described in literature.”

Olaf Meynecke, Marine ecologist, Griffith University · Live Science ↗

Andrew Mulville Sea World Foundation observerOlaf Meynecke Marine ecologist, Griffith UniversityGriffith University and Sea World Foundation Research institutions

Researchers document humpback whale grieving stillborn calf in rare footage
CBS News

How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts

Peak 29 pieces in two hours at Sep 17, 2 AM; 75 pieces over 8 days (56 articles · 9 posts · 10 comments) Sep 16, 6 AM — 4 pieces · 4 articles — Google News 2, Mastodon 1, Newswires 1Sep 16, 8 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 16, 10 AM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Newswires 1, Google News 1Sep 16, 12 PM — 4 pieces · 4 articles — Google News 3, Newswires 1Sep 16, 2 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 16, 4 PM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Google News 2Sep 16, 6 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Google News 1Sep 16, 8 PM — 4 pieces · 3 articles · 1 post — Hacker News 1, Google News 1, Mastodon 1, +1 moreSep 16, 10 PM — quietSep 17, 12 AM — quietSep 17, 2 AM — 29 pieces · 28 articles · 1 post — Google News 28, Mastodon 1Sep 17, 4 AM — quietSep 17, 6 AM — quietSep 17, 8 AM — quietSep 17, 10 AM — quietSep 17, 12 PM — quietSep 17, 2 PM — quietSep 17, 4 PM — 7 pieces · 6 articles · 1 post — Newswires 6, Mastodon 1Sep 17, 6 PM — quietSep 17, 8 PM — quietSep 17, 10 PM — quietSep 18, 12 AM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Google News 1, Newswires 1Sep 18, 2 AM — quietSep 18, 4 AM — quietSep 18, 6 AM — quietSep 18, 8 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 18, 10 AM — quietSep 18, 12 PM — quietSep 18, 2 PM — quietSep 18, 4 PM — quietSep 18, 6 PM — quietSep 18, 8 PM — quietSep 18, 10 PM — quietSep 19, 12 AM — quietSep 19, 2 AM — quietSep 19, 4 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 19, 6 AM — quietSep 19, 8 AM — quietSep 19, 10 AM — quietSep 19, 12 PM — quietSep 19, 2 PM — quietSep 19, 4 PM — quietSep 19, 6 PM — quietSep 19, 8 PM — quietSep 19, 10 PM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Mastodon 2Sep 20, 12 AM — 4 pieces · 4 comments — Hacker News 4Sep 20, 2 AM — 3 pieces · 1 post · 2 comments — Hacker News 2, Mastodon 1Sep 20, 4 AM — 3 pieces · 1 post · 2 comments — Hacker News 2, Mastodon 1Sep 20, 6 AM — quietSep 20, 8 AM — quietSep 20, 10 AM — 2 pieces · 2 comments — Hacker News 2Sep 20, 12 PM — quietSep 20, 2 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 20, 4 PM — quietSep 20, 6 PM — quietSep 20, 8 PM — quietSep 20, 10 PM — quietSep 21, 12 AM — quietSep 21, 2 AM — quietSep 21, 4 AM — quietSep 21, 6 AM — quietSep 21, 8 AM — quietSep 21, 10 AM — quietSep 21, 12 PM — quietSep 21, 2 PM — quietSep 21, 4 PM — quietSep 21, 6 PM — quietSep 21, 8 PM — quietSep 21, 10 PM — quietSep 22, 12 AM — quietSep 22, 2 AM — quietSep 22, 4 AM — quietSep 22, 6 AM — quietSep 22, 8 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 22, 10 AM — quietSep 22, 12 PM — quietSep 22, 2 PM — quietSep 22, 4 PM — quietSep 22, 6 PM — quietSep 22, 8 PM — quietSep 22, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 4 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietToday, 12 AM — quietToday, 2 AM — quiet 12
Sep 17Sep 18Sep 19Sep 20Sep 21Sep 22yesterdaynow · 4:44 AM ET
  1. 2

    Researchers caution against anthropomorphizing behavior while acknowledging emotional complexity

    Scientists emphasize the need to avoid over-interpreting the whale's actions as human-like emotion while acknowledging the dramatic behavioral change mirrors responses in other socially complex mammals. Rebecca Dunlop from the University of Queensland notes such case studies risk anthropomorphizing, but the research presents a balanced argument about possible interpretations.

    “It's pretty heartbreaking to watch this female making continuous contact with the deceased calf.”
    — Olaf Meynecke
    1. 11 outlets Humpback whale in wild observed greiving for stillborn calf - OC Today-Dispatch

      first by Google News · Science, 7d ago · also Mirage News, Guardian Environment, EurekAlert!, The Guardian, CTV News, Live Science +4

      11 more headlines
    2. 9 outlets 'Pretty emotional': Rare video shows humpback whale with stillborn calf

      first by ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 7d ago · also New Scientist, Geo News, inkl, The Canberra Times, WION, Times of India +2

      9 more headlines
    • tompearce49@mastodon.scot

      I would not be surprised. Sentience and emotions in animals are likely to be far more prevalent in all manner of animals than we humans like to believe. It would knock us off our pedestal. https://www. theguardian.com/environment/20 26/sep/17/do-whales-grieve-scientists-research-off-australias-gold-coast-suggests-they-might

      tompearce49@mastodon.scotMastodon7d ago5▲view on Mastodon ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 12 posts in this stretch

    • Blows my mind that so many people just have this hardened internalized idea that we're somehow significantly different than any other animal.Sure, we've got them beat on language and planning, but we're currently in the process of being passed up on both those fronts by multi-dimensional arrays of floating point numbers sitting inside of sand. So…

      georgemcbayHacker News4d agoview on Hacker News ↗
    • RadicalAnthro@c.im

      How a humpback whale mother responds to her stillborn calf https://www. theguardian.com/environment/20 26/sep/17/do-whales-grieve-scientists-research-off-australias-gold-coast-suggests-they-might

      RadicalAnthro@c.imMastodon4d agoview on Mastodon ↗
    all of them →
  2. 1

    Research team publishes study documenting whale grief behavior

    Griffith University researchers led by Olaf Meynecke published findings in the journal Discover Animals showing the first documented stillbirth observation in humpback whales and apparent grief-like behavior. The study notes this is the first detailed, documented occurrence of such behavior for this species.

    “It's really important to not humanise an encounter like this. But then also to understand that it's a mammal, and we have evidence of, not necessarily grief, but the really dramatic change of behaviour that we see in other mammals such as elephants.”
    — Olaf Meynecke
    1. 2 outlets Can humpback whales experience grief?

      first by BBC, 7d ago · also BBC Asia

      1 more headline
    2. 1 outlet Do whales grieve? Rare humpback observation offers first clue

      first by Oceanographic Magazine, 7d ago

  3. background

    Mother whale stays with calf for two hours as researchers observe — Mulville observed the whales for the next two hours, staying in the immediate vicinity of the dead calf and continuously diving down to it. On the following two days, members of the public on shore reported seeing the two adult whales in the same location.

  4. background

    Mother whale repeatedly approaches stillborn calf — The mother whale repeatedly approached the calf, looked at it eye to eye, and touched it with her head and pectoral fin. Unlike with live newborns, she did not attempt to push the calf to the surface to help it breathe, suggesting awareness of its death. A second adult whale remained nearby, apparently supporting both.

  5. background

    Humpback whale stillbirth observed off Gold Coast — Andrew Mulville aboard a boat near the Gold Coast in Queensland spotted two adult humpback whales in unusual behavior, then observed an amniotic membrane floating on the surface indicating a birth had occurred. Using an underwater camera, he found a stillborn calf less than 4 metres long on the sandy seabed.

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 4 outlets Video captures whale grieving stillborn child: ‘She remained close to the calf’

    first by The Independent, 7d ago · also IndyStar, Idaho Statesman, USA Today

    1 more headline
  2. 3 outlets Humpback whale seen grieving dead calf in rare footage: "Heartbreaking to watch"

    first by CBS News, 7d ago · also The Times, PetaPixel

    3 more headlines
  3. 3 outlets Humpback Whales Grieve for Lost Offspring, Video Evidence Shows

    first by Nautilus, 6d ago · also Nautilus | Science Connected, Yahoo

and 2 smaller pieces

What people are saying 7 voices from 1 site · best of 12 · verbatim