A drone captured an exceptional moment during the annual humpback whale migration in Australia. The footage shows a female slowly rising toward the surface and, seconds later, her newborn calf entering the water to breathe for the first time.
The footage was taken by Alexander Forrest, a drone pilot associated with ORRCA, while he was watching whales off Australia’s east coast. At first, he thought the whale was simply resting, but the scene changed when a patch of blood appeared beneath her body and then the small calf emerged.
Experts noted that there are very few published records of humpback whale births and that this would be the first aerial filming of a complete birth. The mother remained still for a few seconds, turned toward her calf, and began accompanying it at the surface.