A humpback whale has been observed for the first time shortly after birthing a stillborn calf, showing apparent signs of grief similar to those seen in other large mammals such as elephants.

The encounter began at around 8am on 17 July 2025, when Andrew Mulville at the Sea World Foundation, an Australian charity, was aboard a boat a kilometre offshore from the Gold Coast in Queensland.

He noticed two adult whales milling in the same location, occasionally diving, vocalising and rolling on the surface. By 8.30am, Mulville saw and recorded an amniotic membrane floating on the surface, indicating a birth had occurred but, concerningly, no blood or placenta was visible.

He then placed a camera underwater and saw a stillborn calf, less than 4 metres long, that had sunk to the sandy seabed. The mother repeatedly approached the calf, looked at it eye to eye, and touched it with her head and pectoral fin.

While such behaviour has been recorded in toothed whales with dead calves, it is extremely rare in baleen whales such as humpbacks (Megaptera novaeangliae).

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With a live newborn, humpback mothers typically try to push the calf to the surface to help it breathe, but in this case she didn鈥檛, perhaps suggesting she knew it wasn鈥檛 alive.

Meanwhile, the second adult stayed nearby, apparently supporting both the mother and dead calf.

Although stillbirth in mammals is common, it is extremely rare to observe the event in whales, says at Griffith University in Australia, who co-wrote a paper with Mulville on the observation. To his knowledge, it has never before been witnessed in humpback whales.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really important to not humanise an encounter like this,鈥� says Meynecke. 鈥淏ut then also to understand that it鈥檚 a mammal, and we have evidence of, not necessarily grief, but the really dramatic change of behaviour that we see in other mammals such as elephants when they lose a member of their group or when they lose their calves.鈥�

Mulville observed the whales for the next 2 hours, as they stayed in the immediate vicinity of the dead calf and continuously dived down to it. On the next two days, members of the public on shore reported seeing the two adult whales in the same location.

The incident has raised concerns about why the calf was stillborn, especially because seven deceased humpback whale neonates and one deceased young whale of unconfirmed age were also observed in July 2025 in the same region. None of these appeared to be the stillborn whale observed by the scientists.

Also, while it has become increasingly common for humpbacks to calve in southern Queensland as their population has grown, no one is sure why so many female whales are now giving birth hundreds of kilometres south of their traditional breeding grounds in the Great Barrier Reef.

It was also extremely unusual that the mother didn鈥檛 deliver her placenta, and this may have also placed her at risk, says Meynecke.

Photos of her distinctive fluke have been uploaded to a database of 16,000 individuals, so the researchers hope she will be recognised if she re-appears in coming seasons.

at the University of Queensland says descriptive case study reports such as this one 鈥渞un the risk of anthropomorphising observed behaviours鈥�.

鈥淗owever, the study does present a balanced argument of how the observed behaviour could be interpreted and notes that the terms 鈥榞rief鈥�, 鈥榚motion鈥� and 鈥榙istress鈥� must be used with caution since we cannot definitively assign these terms to the observed behaviour,鈥� says Dunlop.

She says only with 鈥渕ore data and more occurrences鈥� would it be possible to test the hypothesis that what was observed was emotional or grieving behaviour. 聽

Wild adult chimpanzees have been seen passing tools to youngsters to help them learn and then coaching them, supporting the idea that teaching helps immature chimps acquire technological skills.

鈥淭o actually catch it on film is important and was very surprising for us,鈥� says at the University of Barcelona, Spain.

Chimpanzees are known to make and use a variety of tools, from leaf or moss sponges that soak up water to sticks used to fish for or , and even crafting simple spears for hunting. But how chimpanzees learn such skills is debated.

It is clear that the knowledge does get passed on. For example, one study showed an increase in the number of chimps in Uganda using moss as a sponge to soak up water from a pond. Work with captive chimps has also shown that the animals can pass on knowledge to others. The big question is whether individuals copy behaviour after observation, actively teach each other or independently come up with the same solutions to a task.

To see if they could answer that, Hernandez-Aguilar and her colleagues analysed 15 hours of footage from camera traps at the 鈥檚 biological station in Dindefelo, Senegal, taken between 2017 and 2025. The cameras were placed near 14 sites in the area where wild western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) had previously been recorded using tools, including fishing for algae, army ants and termites.

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In total, the camera traps recorded聽33 instances of tool transfer from one chimp to another: 19 when they were dipping for ants to eat, 10 during fishing for algae and four when fishing for termites. Generally, a chimp handed the key object to a close relative, and in 30 per cent of cases, this was from a mother to her offspring.

In one video, a mother, Soukki, inserted a dipping stick into an ant nest, then grabbed her baby daughter, Sa茂sa茂, and led her to the tool. Sa茂sa茂 pulled the stick out and ate the ants clinging to it.

鈥淲e found support for the idea that tool transfers are a form of teaching that experienced chimpanzees may use to facilitate the learning of young individuals,鈥� says team member , also at the University of Barcelona.

The team also gathered 30 minutes of footage from cameras at 11 sites where chimpanzees to crack them open. This is considered proto-tool use rather than tool use, because the stones are being used as an anvil rather than being directly held and manipulated.

In an example of this, a mother called F茅r茅 collected three baobab fruits and placed them near her infant son Fotti. A juvenile male 鈥� probably an older sibling 鈥� picked up a fruit and pounded it against some rocks while Fotti watched, then guided Fotti鈥檚 hand to a fruit. Fotti had a go himself, eventually managing to open up a fruit. 聽

The videos support the idea that other social mechanisms such as observation and supervised practice help youngsters learn to use tools, says S谩nchez-Meg铆as.

鈥淭eaching events are quite rare and difficult to study because only so many learning attempts are needed until an individual learns a behaviour,鈥� says at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany. 鈥淪howing across many forms of tool use that these tool transfers are indicative of a very simple form of teaching is very cool and nice.鈥�

During the observed interactions, the researchers noted that the teacher was forgoing food for the learning youngster鈥檚 benefit.

鈥淭his is an important observation because it fits the criteria for teaching used in animal behaviour research 鈥� that the behaviour benefits the pupil鈥檚 opportunities to learn, and is done despite having a cost to the teacher,鈥� says at the University of St Andrews, UK.

When it comes to gigantic predatory dinosaurs one animal reigns supreme: Tyrannosaurus rex, the tyrant lizard king, or T. rex for short. But what if T. rex never existed the way you might picture it? For almost 100 years, we’ve imagined T. rex as a lone king, an apex predator overseeing their world unchallenged. But that’s wrong. A new T. rex fossil has since changed everything we know about this iconic carnivore and revealed something astonishing: the T. rex isn’t just one species, but many. Meet Nanotyrannus.

The Dinosaur Extinction Was More Complicated Than You Think

The dinosaur-ending asteroid may have been especially devastating due to its angle

We cannot live without soil. It provides us with building materials, most of our antibiotics and 95 per cent of our food.

In, photographer and soil ecologist Frank Ashwood urges us to better appreciate and protect the soil we rely on. He does so with stunning images of the creatures that call soil home.

The adorable velvet worm in the main image was found under a log in a misty beech forest on the South Island of New Zealand. 鈥淭hey look like little worms rolled in sequins,鈥� says Ashwood. But looks can be deceiving: 鈥淭hey crawl around and shoot glue out of special organs on their heads to immobilise their pray, which they鈥檒l then go and eat while alive.鈥�

A droplet of sperm deposited by a male springtail, a tiny insect-like creature, sits atop a delicate stem made of protein-rich secretions in the image below. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like a lollipop, basically, with a bit of sperm-rich fluid on the top, which the males leave for the females to come and find,鈥� says Ashwood.

But beware any marauding rivals. 鈥淚f a male finds another springtail鈥檚 spermatophore, they will actually eat it to destroy it,鈥� he says.

Below, a beautiful woodlouse spider stares straight down the lens of Ashwood鈥檚 camera. Its large fangs have evolved to better hunt woodlice. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l come at a woodlouse from the top or the side, grasp it, then reach underneath with those sharp bits of the fangs and pierce into the soft underbelly,鈥� he says.

A bright yellow slime mould stretches across a decaying log in the shot below. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a big, sprawling mass of a single cell, essentially; they branch out looking for food,鈥� says Ashwood. The mould鈥檚 efficient networks have been used to map road networks, the fastest way out of an IKEA showroom and dark matter throughout the universe, he says.

This gorgeous giant springtail, below, was found in a forest in New Zealand. Its orange spines help it camouflage against logs. 鈥淏ecause they鈥檙e rare, when you do see one, it鈥檚 a moment of pure exhilaration,鈥� says Ashwood. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e an indicator of the forest being in really good condition.鈥�

Ashwood, who is based at Lincoln University in New Zealand, snapped the silvery springtail below while in the UK. During the Victorian period in the 1800s, their iridescent scales were used to test microscopes. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e got really ornate, tiny sculpturing on them, so the better detail you could see, the better your microscope,鈥� he says.

Ashwood hopes his book will encourage people to protect soil, for instance by reducing deforestation and farming more sustainably. 鈥淥ver half of the world鈥檚 biodiversity is in soil, and we鈥檙e losing it at a rate that is not sustainable,鈥� he says.

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Young pygmy raccoons on a Mexican island have been seen teaching each other to make toy balls out of rubbish, in a rare example of animals crafting objects purely to play with.

鈥淢y first reaction was, oh my gosh, that鈥檚 absolutely adorable!鈥� says at Miami University in Ohio, who is researching the impact of tourism on the critically endangered pygmy raccoons (Procyon pygmaeus) of Cozumel Island.

O鈥橬eil filmed as one of the younger raccoons fished paper out of a rubbish bin, dipped it in a bowl of water and rolled it in sand, making a ball.

Over days of observation, she recorded the animals as they made more balls and used them to play 鈥渇ootball鈥� with other raccoons and dwarf coatis (Nasua narica nelsoni), another raccoon-like animal. Siblings taught each other the ball-making procedure, and even tried to get their mother involved, though she couldn鈥檛 quite figure it out 鈥� her coordination seemed to have been impaired after drinking a margarita she found at a beach bar earlier that day.

O鈥橬eil鈥檚 colleague at Miami University, was impressed by the footage. While others have watched animals like chimps or tigers at play, researchers have seldom seen animals custom-making toys for later use. 鈥淚t shouldn鈥檛 be surprising that raccoons are where we鈥檙e seeing this, just because they鈥檙e so tactile, they see with their hands,鈥� says Szydlowski.

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鈥淭he observations show how complex animal play behaviour can be,鈥� says at the Institute of Animal Science in the Czech Republic. 鈥淚t will be intriguing to see whether the behaviour will get a hold in the population as a new cultural trait or will disappear.鈥�

The observations may also help with conservation efforts. There are fewer than 200 pygmy raccoons on Cozumel, the only place the species is found. Understanding how they learn from each other might help conservationists discourage unhealthy behaviours like stealing margaritas and begging for snacks, and reacquaint them with foraging in the wild. And O鈥橬eil hopes increased awareness of the animals will bring more support. 鈥淚 really just want people to know that they are out there, and they need people to care,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd please don鈥檛 feed them!鈥�

From a viper with a bloodthirsty hitchhiker to a bullfrog narrowly missing its lunch, these photographs, all of which are in the running for this year鈥檚 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, offer a glimpse into the drama unfolding across the animal kingdom.

Biting Back,听an intimidating shot captured by Andrea and Maceo Grammatico,听was highly commended in the contest鈥檚 Animal聽Portraits category.聽The twins say it聽wasn鈥檛聽until聽reviewing their聽photographs聽that they聽spotted聽a mosquito聽drinking from the head of the聽fer-de-lance聽鈥撀爐he most dangerous snake in Central America.

There was a聽near miss in聽Jens Cullmann鈥檚聽Split-Second Escape,聽highly commended in the聽Behaviour:聽Amphibians and聽Reptiles聽category and shown in the main image.聽The moment was聽almost as聽fleeting as the frog鈥檚 prey 鈥� an African babul blue butterfly 鈥� and all the more remarkable given that Cullmann had聽spotted聽tadpoles a month earlier, returning to find them transformed into聽young bullfrogs. African bullfrogs spend much of the year聽underground聽in an聽inactive state聽known as聽aestivation,听emerging聽only for a short period after the rainy season to breed,听hunt and gorge.聽

Hiding not hunting is the speciality of the lichen dragon katydid captured by聽Gil Wizen,听below. Named Hidden Dragon, Wizen鈥檚 shot, highly commended in the Behaviour: Invertebrates category, captures the almost perfectly camouflaged, 15-millimetre-long, spiky insect 鈥� a rare species found only in the Ecuadorian Andes mountains.

Moving away from rural聽environments,听笔辞辞濒迟颈尘别听笔补蝉迟颈尘别听by Loren Elliott,听below, was聽highly commended in the Urban Wildlife category. Elliott captures聽the聽unusual聽sight聽of a聽black bear聽taking time to chill in a swimming pool in southern California. While the bear聽may look聽somewhat聽out聽of place,听these run-ins are becoming聽surprisingly common as聽housing developments continue聽to聽encroach聽on bear territory.聽聽

Finally,听a black vulture grasps the carcass of a yacare caiman in Andrew Parkinson鈥檚聽Wings of Darkness,听below, captured in Brazil鈥檚 Pantanal wetlands聽and聽also聽highly commended in the Animal Portraits category.聽Despite a seemingly firm grip, the scavenger鈥檚 meal聽wasn鈥檛聽to be,听with a jaguar waiting just out of shot for the perfect opportunity to claim the聽caiman.

The competition鈥檚 overall winner will be announced on 13 October. The Wildlife Photographer of the Year聽contest is organised by London鈥檚 Natural History聽Museum,听which will run an of the images from 16 October to 11 July 2027.