Drone captures first aerial footage of humpback whale birth in Australia

Drone pilot Alexander Forrest has captured the first-ever aerial footage of a humpback whale giving birth off the coast of Kingscliff, New South Wales. The event occurred in late July 2026 while Forrest, a volunteer for the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA), was conducting a routine migration survey.

Forrest observed an adult female whale exhibiting labored, slow movement near the surf break. After noticing a plume of red in the water, he recorded the emergence of a newborn calf surfacing for its first breath. Following the discovery, fellow ORRCA drone operators Tanya Snowden and Dominic Cotter-Dephoff assisted in documenting the maternal behaviors of the pair until sunset.

Scientists consider this a significant observation for marine biology, as it is only the fourth time a humpback birth has been documented globally and the first via drone. The high-resolution footage provides unprecedented data on maternal behavior and the critical early moments of a newborn calf's life. The team is currently preparing the footage for peer review and scientific publication.