Scientists had a rare view of what could be humpback whale mourning when they spotted a female attending the body of a dead calf.
The sighting suggests that baleen whales may experience grief, marine biologist Olaf Meynecke and rescue boat captain Andrew Mulville report September 16 in Discover Animals.
Some toothed whales, such as orcas, have been seen spending long periods with dead calves, occasionally carrying them at the surface for days. Such demonstrations of apparent grief are rarely seen in baleen whales. This may be because newborn baleen whales are born without the fat stores that would cause a whale corpse to float. If mothers spend time with...
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