New Delhi: A mother’s love isn’t limited to humans; animals also share a deep bond with their young. A heartbreaking example of this was witnessed in the Indian Ocean, where a mother dolphin carried her dead newborn baby for six days. Drone video of this incident has gone viral on social media, leaving people emotional.
In the video, the mother dolphin repeatedly brings her baby to the surface. It seems as if she still has hope that her baby will start breathing again. This scene melted everyone’s heart.
Mother dolphin loses five babies
According to reports, this mother dolphin’s name is Fraggle. Sadly, this was not her first, but her fifth child to lose. Four of her previous offspring had also failed to survive. The entire incident was captured on a drone camera by Australia’s marine conservation organization (Geographe Marine Research). Surprisingly, a group of approximately 14 dolphins continued to swim alongside Fraggle during this time, as if sharing her grief.
A mother dolphin named Fraggle carried her dead 2-week-old calf for 6 days in the Indian Ocean.
Grief is not uniquely human.
Some bonds run deeper than we admit. pic.twitter.com/z1Tpb7MwCU— Rajat Jain (@RajatJain) August 4, 2026
According to researchers, the baby dolphin was about two weeks old. It was having severe breathing problems before dying. Experts say that baby dolphins born during the winter in this area are at greater risk of respiratory problems due to the cold winds.
what do scientists say
Scientists say that the behavior of keeping dead young with them for extended periods of time has been observed many times before in marine animals like dolphins and whales. This behavior is scientifically known as post-mortem attentive behavior. It is believed to be a sign of a deep emotional bond between mother and child, although research is still ongoing to determine the true reason behind this.
After the video surfaced, people on social media commented that a mother’s pain is the same for every living being. Many users wrote that the scene brought tears to their eyes, while others said that the grief of losing a child is the greatest sorrow in the world. This incident once again proves that emotions exist not only in humans, but also in animals.