The female repeatedly interacted with the calf and remained nearby for several hours, and possibly days, with an escort whale present.
The case involved a female humpback whale, her deceased calf and an escort whale. The female remained near the calf and engaged in repeated interactions over several hours and possibly days.
Such post-mortem attentive behavior has been documented mainly in toothed whales, while reports in baleen whales are rare. The researchers say the observations are consistent with responses linked to maternal attachment in socially complex mammals.
The researchers documented prolonged post-mortem attendance by a female humpback whale toward her stillborn calf. The female stayed in close proximity, repeatedly interacted with the calf and maintained attendance for several hours and possibly days, while an escort whale was also present. Unlike some reports in toothed whales, she did not attempt to lift the calf to the surface.
This case adds rare evidence of death-related behavior in a baleen whale. It may help researchers study the social bonds, emotional lives and cognitive capacities of large whales, while highlighting the need to document more rare neonatal deaths systematically.
The evidence is a case study based on observed behavior in one female humpback whale and her calf. The duration was estimated as several hours and possibly days, and a single case cannot establish how common this behavior is or determine exactly what the whale experienced. The observations are consistent with post-mortem attentive responses and strong maternal attachment, but they do not by themselves explain the behavior's cognitive or emotional basis.
Discover Animals · 2026 · DOI: 10.1007/s44338-026-00232-9
Authors: Jan‐Olaf Meynecke, Andrew Mulville
Institutions: Griffith University, Sea World
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