The bottlenose dolphin, first seen carrying the calf on Tuesday, is “displaying strong maternal bond behavior,” the New Zealand Department of Conservation said in a news release . A female dolphin has been spotted carrying her dead calf in a heartbreaking scene in New Zealand ’s Bay of Islands this week. The mother is displaying maternal bond behaviour and she needs extra space and respect to grieve: https://t.co/rvrOR78sTN pic.twitter.com/giKxAvDUv9The department has urged boaters to give the mourning mother space. “The mother is grieving and needs space and time to do this,” senior ranger of biodiversity Catherine Peters said in the statement. At times, the mother has been spotted dropping the calf, then leaving the rest of her group to go back and retrieve it.

Source: Huffington Post February 02, 2019 17:37 UTC