The incredible moment of a humpback whale giving birth has been captured on video for the first time – before the capsule sets off on a 5,000-mile journey to its feeding grounds

Camera captured the incredible moment of a humpback whale giving birth for the first time before the capsule sailed more than 5,000 miles to its feeding grounds.

A majestic moment recorded near Lahaina, Hawaii in 2021 was captured on film “National Geographic”. new series “The Incredible Journeys of Animals”.

This was the first time scientists had witnessed the birth of a full humpback whale from start to finish.

National Geographic footage shows the pod swimming in sync before approaching a mother whale as she gives birth.

“We’ve been waiting for this for 25 years,” Rachel Cartwright, a whale researcher with the Keiki Kohola Project, told National Geographic. – It’s never been seen.

Female whales travel to the Hawaiian Islands every year to give birth in “predator-free waters.”

Scientists have only seen glimpses or signs of a female whale giving birth – never before the entire birth.

“I’ve gotten a lot of calls from people saying they saw a whale being born,” Stephanie Stack, chief biologist at the Pacific Whale Foundation on Maui, tells National Geographic.

“And often, when we dig a little deeper into it, it turns out that’s not quite the case. Often it’s just a whale resting or a whale spending time with its calf,” she added.

“So I was really surprised when I saw the footage. It is wonderful!’

Labor began at 3 p.m., when scientists noticed a pod of whales gathering near the water’s surface.

One of the crew went to investigate and noticed a small fluke sticking out of the female.

“At that point we knew labor was possible,” Cartwright told National Geographic.

“People stayed in the water until sunset,” he says. “But the light went out and we didn’t think we’d get anything new.”

Cartwright didn’t even realize what she had captured with her drone until she played it back later.

“We saw a large explosion of blood on the video,” Cartwright says. “And then, two seconds later, we finally saw the calf.”

At one point, the males began blowing cups on the pregnant humpback whale – scientists believe this may trigger the release of “feel-good hormones” such as oxytocin.

“There’s one beautiful scene where the mom has her tail up, the little baby’s tail is sticking out, and the males are coming in blowing bubbles,” Cartwright said.

Viewers were amazed by this amazing moment.

One commented: “How beautiful and precious to watch this.” This is why our oceans should be kept clean, not destroyed, and why animals deserve respect, admiration and protection.

Parks and Wildlife Service WA (DBCA) received calls about a whale in distress at the same location

A pod of dolphins led a humpback whale and her calf back to their migration route near the coast of Western Australia

Another said: “Wow, what a beautiful video.” They are so intelligent. A very agitated male humpback whale blew bubbles, creating a screen to give the female humpback some privacy. Thank you, National Geographic team!”

“What an amazing photographer. I’ve never seen this before. As always, Nat Geo is #1,” a third person commented.

Earlier this month, a pod of dolphins led a humpback whale and her calf back to their migration route in an extraordinary moment caught on camera.

A touching interaction between the two species took place on October 18 near Bunbury Back Beach in Western Australia.

The Bunbury Dolphin Discovery Center used a drone to record the rare encounter.

It depicts a humpback whale, initially mistaken for a killer whale due to its dramatic black and white markings, with its calf swimming alone in the ocean.

The pair strayed from their migration path, but a pod of dolphins arrived and guided them back on track.