Underwater footage has captured the rare sight of humpback whale calves nursing in Australia.

Scientists from Griffith University recorded the video using suction camera tags, revealing repeated nursing behaviour in around half of the tagged whales in Moreton Bay.

Griffith University researcher and PhD candidate Stephanie Stack said: 'To our knowledge, this is the first documented use of camera-equipped suction-cup tags on humpback whale calves in Australia, and one of few datasets globally that combines video, fine-scale movement, and acoustic data for humpback whale calves.'

The discovery is part of Ms Stack's doctoral research, contributing to Professor Susan Bengston Nash's ARC Linkage project Life in the Shipping Lane, which examines the risks of shipping disturbances to humpback whales on Quandamooka Sea Country.

Field work also recorded consistently high numbers of mother-calf pairs during the 2024 and 2025 seasons, several lone adult whales using the Bay, and, for the first time, groups of multiple mother-calf pairs socialising together.

Stack added: 'Across both seasons, we achieved 13 successful CATS camera tag deployments, with approximately half of these capturing nursing behaviour between mothers and calves.

'In total, we now have 35 hours and 37 minutes of fine-scale movement, acoustic, and video data focusing on humpback whale calves.'

The research was a collaboration between Griffith University and the University of Hawaii, in partnership with Quandamooka Traditional Owners and industry partners including Port of Brisbane, DHI, Stradbroke Flyer, and Healthy Land and Water.