Humpback whale mothers may display unusual behavior after their calves die, according to a recent study led by Griffith University and the Sea World Foundation. In 2025, a female humpback whale, accompanied by an escort whale, was observed off the southern Gold Coast shortly after giving birth to a calf that appeared to be stillborn. The mother stayed close to the calf for several hours, and possibly even days, showing behavior that suggested she was still attentive to her offspring. Dr. Olaf Meynecke, from Griffith University's Whales and Climate Research Program, explained that while postmortem behavior—where animals remain with a deceased member of their group—has been recorded in toothed whales and dolphins, it is less commonly observed in baleen whales like humpbacks. "This humpback whale mother showed prolonged attention to her deceased calf underwater, maintaining eye contact and positioning herself next to the calf over several hours," Meynecke said. These actions resemble caregiving behaviors seen in other socially complex mammals, suggesting a strong emotional bond between the mother and her calf. Rescue boat captain Andrew Mulville from the Sea World Foundation, who witnessed the event, described the experience as unexpected. "At first, I thought it was just two whales resting on the surface, but their behavior was unusual. I wasn't expecting to see something like this out at sea," he said. The observation, along with other rare cases involving deceased calves, adds to the limited understanding of how baleen whales—filter-feeding whales like humpbacks—respond to death. Meynecke emphasized the significance of such rare observations. "This case study highlights the need for continued documentation of neonatal mortality events to better understand the emotional and cognitive aspects of death-related responses in large whales," he said. Studying how nonhuman animals react to death can provide insights into their emotional lives, social bonds, and cognitive abilities. The study, titled "First documentation of humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) postmortem attendance of a stillborn," has been published in the journal Discover Animals.