Alexander Forrest Captures 1st Drone Footage of Humpback Birth off Australia
Updated
Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Aug 7
Alexander Forrest Captures 1st Drone Footage of Humpback Birth off Australia
3 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Aug 7
Summary
July 28 footage from north New South Wales shows a humpback whale giving birth, with a blood plume followed moments later by a pale calf surfacing for its first breaths.
Alexander Forrest recorded the scene while conducting aerial observations for ORRCA after spotting a lone adult whale moving slowly in shallow water and rising unexpectedly.
ORRCA drone pilots joined Forrest soon after, and the team tracked the mother and calf until sunset while researchers coordinated from headquarters.
The sighting is only the fourth recorded humpback whale birth and the first ever captured by drone, offering researchers rare evidence on reproduction, maternal behavior and a calf's earliest moments.