Incredibly rare video of newborn whale recorded by researcher
Researcher had deployed a drone to study marine mammals.
(Web Desk) – A researcher, who has been studying whales and dolphins, recently caught an extremely rare sight: a baby humpback whale swimming with its mum, just after 20 minutes of birth.
Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program at the University of Hawai, had not been too close to capture a live birth in about 25 years of his study of marine mammals.
He has been studying marine life to understand how climate change, human activity, and food availability might affect the animals behaviour.
To get closer to whales – without disturbing them – he has been using an indispensable, airborne tool – a drone.
While filming whales off the coast of Maui, he recorded an extraordinary experience for viewers to watch.
Unlike fish, marine mammals such as dolphins and whales give birth to live young after a relatively long pregnancy (so do humans).
Humpback whales gestate for 11 months, and the calves will feed on their mothers milk for 5-7 months before being weaned.
The little ones are typically born tail-first so that they don t drown during the process. As soon as the calf emerges fully, the mum has to nudge it to the surface so it can take its first breaths. If all goes well, adult whales can live up to around 50 years of age.
The baby captured in this footage was so young, its dorsal fin and tail flukes still appeared to be quite soft. And, while it was a little on the clumsy side, it managed to stay upright; which meant that it s impossible to know whether it s male or female.
What we do know is that it s 100 percent adorable.
"I think everybody can appreciate these kinds of footages, and it brings us closer to these animals and gives us a really majestic view of these creatures," Bejder said. "I think it s pretty spectacular."
