White whale calf (Fredrick Christiansen/Murdoch University) "Little is known about the fine-scale movements and habitat use of southern right whales on their breeding and calving grounds in Australia - many of which are slated for development activity, including associated increases in shipping, marine tourism and recreational activity," Prof Bejder says. Aside from the non-invasive drones, the team approached the whales on a small boat, and using a long hand-held pole, attached digital acoustic recording tags to seven whales. They stuck to the whales for 24 hours and sent back data about where the whales went, the vocalisations they made and calf suckling rates.
A rare, white southern right whale calf has been filmed by a drone off the coast of Western Australia. The footage was captured by researchers from Murdoch University's Cetacean Research Unit, who have been using suction cup tags and drones to study acoustic communications, calf suckling rates, body condition and also how human activity affects the whales. Information from the study will help with the development of conservation strategies to protect the species where coastal development is planned.