Heartbreaking Video Shows Mother Dolphin Mourning Loss Of Its Stillborn Calf

A grieving mother dolphin was recently caught on camera refusing to let go of her stillborn calf.

The upsetting video was taken at the Dolphin Discovery Centre in Western Australia’s Bunbury. Cracker, a resident dolphin at the centre, was seen in the video swimming with the lifeless body of the calf, bringing it to the surface of the water and balancing it on her snout before dipping it again in the water.

The video was recorded and shared on YouTube by Alan Simm, a volunteer at the center. The Dolphin Discovery Center had announced the birth of at least five new calves in the Bunbury waters on Feb. 17.

"If you are lucky enough to see them please give them plenty of space and do not approach them," the center wrote on Facebook.

But in "less happy news" they revealed one of the calves was stillborn. "Sadly this is a natural and common occurrence with dolphins."

The organization explained carrying around the dead calf for a few days is a common trait in a grieving mother dolphin.

"As part of the grieving process, the mother will carry around the calf on her rostrum for a few days mourning her loss," the center explained in the Facebook post. "When approached she might push the calf underwater to protect it, which is an unneeded increase in an already stressful time."

Officials said anybody intending to see the dolphins should maintain extra distance so as not to intervene in the mother’s grieving process.

“We would like to ask the public not to intervene with the mother's grieving process, and to keep extra distance if they were to see her,” the Facebook post added.

In February last year, a female bottlenose dolphin was spotted carrying the body of its dead calf for days on its back through the waters near New Zealand’s Bay of Islands. The calf was believed to be stillborn. New Zealand’s Department of Conservation asked boaters in the waters to give the dolphin a wide berth while it struggled to cope with its loss.