An Australian drone pilot recorded what some scientists believe to be the first and only drone footage of a humpback whale giving birth. The pilot says he was documenting the whale migration when he noticed an adult humpback whale presenting interesting behavior. Then, the whale gave birth, and he hit record just in time.
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“Yesterday . . . the ocean seemed like it was full of activity. Between the southbound and northbound migrators, one whale stood out – a lone adult, travelling in the shallows at a very slow speed. My first instinct: perhaps it was sleeping?” wrote Alex (forrestfov) in an Instagram post sharing the ground-breaking video. “The whale suddenly rose toward the surface, so I hit record – any breath is chance to capture a unique behaviour. In this instance she didn’t rise for an exhale, but to birth her new calf. [. . .] The calf jetted to the surface for its earliest breaths, and its mother almost instantaneously turned to seek out her calf. I quickly called ORRCA with the sighting.”
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Alex says his footage joins only four other “complete documentations” of a humpback whale birth. He hopes it will help scientists better understand humpback whale reproduction, maternal behavior, and the earliest stages of a calf’s life.
Watch drone footage of a humpback whale birth below (or see it here).
Header stock image by Westend61/Getty Images
