A humpback mother on the Gold Coast cared for a stillborn calf in July last year, captured by a rescue team with a GoPro, prompting researchers to document behaviors that suggest possible grief or post-mortem care.

Scientists caution against equating the observed behaviors with human-like grief, noting that internal emotional states in animals are difficult to measure.

The study is notable for baleen whales, which have little prior evidence of such behavior, and researchers stress that grief is tentative; they consider distress or attachment as alternative explanations.

This is the second recent instance of first-time observation captured in the wild by camera, following a drone-recorded birth, underscoring the value of non-intrusive data sharing and documentation.

Photos of the mother’s distinctive fluke have been added to a database of 16,000 individuals to help researchers recognize her if she reappears.

The event is discussed alongside previous cases in toothed whales and references brain studies showing spindle neurons linked to social awareness and empathy in humpbacks.

A secondary finding describes a bottlenose dolphin engaging in kleptoparasitism, illustrating the complexity of dolphin behavior beyond caregiving.

The incident occurred on July 17, 2025, and was recorded by Sea World Foundation using a GoPro after reports of two lingering humpbacks near Palm Beach Reef.

The video provides valuable observational data despite its distressing nature, highlighting the cross-species relevance of maternal attachment and post-mortem attention.

Public interest is reflected in Google Trends, where searches for ‘humpback whale’ show elevated curiosity about whale behavior and mourning phenomena.

Footage and images have drawn online attention for the prolonged interaction between the mother and calf.

The incident underscores the mysteries of whale life and the complexity of their social bonds, indicating much remains unknown about their emotional and social world.