Eleni Lauer

31/08/2026

27/08/2026

A dramatic encounter unfolds in the icy waters of Antarctica. A massive humpback whale is partially submerged at the ocean surface, surrounded by cold dark-blue water, floating sea ice, and towering snow-covered Antarctic mountains in the distance. A frightened Weddell seal is being pursued by a small group of orcas nearby.

The seal desperately swims toward the humpback whale for refuge. The whale ic mountains. Slowly

27/08/2026

A dramatic encounter unfolds in the icy waters of Antarctica. A massive humpback whale is partially submerged at the ocean surface, surrounded by cold dark-blue water, floating sea ice, and towering snow-covered Antarctic mountains in the distance. A frightened Weddell seal is being pursued by a small group of orcas nearby.

The seal desperately swims toward the humpback whale for refuge. The whale remains calm and appears to notice the danger approaching. As the orcas circle at a distance, the humpback slowly rolls and positions its enormous body beneath the seal. With a gentle but powerful movement, the whale lifts the seal partially out of the water onto its broad chest and back, creating a striking moment of apparent protection.

The seal looks alert and frightened but unharmed. It struggles briefly to maintain its position as waves move around the whale. When the seal begins sliding toward the water, the humpback carefully adjusts its body and uses a pectoral fin to gently nudge the seal back toward safety. The seal eventually scrambles from the whale onto a nearby patch of floating Antarctic ice.

**Camera direction:** Begin with a wide cinematic shot showing the whale, seal, distant orcas, open ocean, sea ice, and dramatic Antarctic mountains. Slowly move closer to the animals at water level. Capture a close-up as the whale raises the seal above the surface, followed by a detailed shot of the whale gently repositioning the seal with its pectoral fin. Finish with the seal safely reaching nearby ice while the whale remains beside it.

**Visual style:** Photorealistic marine wildlife documentary, authentic humpback whale and Weddell seal anatomy, realistic animal proportions and behavior, natural ocean movement, cold Antarctic atmosphere, detailed wet skin and fur, realistic splashing water, subtle mist, soft overcast polar daylight, cinematic depth of field, natural colors, documentary-grade cinematography, highly detailed 4K appearance.

**Important:** Keep the interaction gentle and non-graphic. Do not show injuries, blood, or animal distress beyond natural fear and urgency. The scene should feel like a remarkable wildlife moment captured by a professional documentary crew, not a staged or fantastical scene.

**Mood:** tense, emotional, mysterious, compassionate, and awe-inspiring, ending on a hopeful note.

26/08/2026

Late Friday afternoon, 8/21, Marine Mammals of Maine’s stranding hotline received an important report that quickly mobilized our response team-a freshly deceased humpback whale in the New Meadows River in Phippsburg, Maine. Executive Director, Lynda Doughty and MMoME stranding staff loaded specialized large whale response gear, only to find what we were not exactly expecting.
MMoME has been fielding calls of large whales close to shore for over a decade, and most recently over the last several months. Large whales in rivers can be especially concerning due to the potential threats they face in this environment. When the response team arrived, we found a female humpback whale ✨calf✨ who had passed away within the last several hours. Her species, age, location, and fresh condition were all essential to investigate, and she was towed and transported for necropsy.
On Saturday, a full internal and external evaluation was performed by MMoME, finding her to be 20 feet long and between 6 and 9 months old (still maternally dependent). She was emaciated with very little muscle or fat and there were few stomach contents, which supports her poor body condition. There were no other gross necropsy findings. Samples collected from the necropsy will be sent for histopathology.
This was an incredibly sad case, but we are grateful for the opportunity to document her life and passing. In doing so, our hope is to connect the community with this calf and her species and foster marine stewardship, and maximize our resources to learn and share as much as possible about her stranding with the scientific community.
We couldn’t have accomplished this without the heavy equipment operation by Harry Doughty and Son, the public’s help at the town landing, and Benson Farm for the necropsy site and

26/08/2026

Late Friday afternoon, 8/21, Marine Mammals of Maine’s stranding hotline received an important report that quickly mobilized our response team-a freshly deceased humpback whale in the New Meadows River in Phippsburg, Maine. Executive Director, Lynda Doughty and MMoME stranding staff loaded specialized large whale response gear, only to find what we were not exactly expecting.
MMoME has been fielding calls of large whales close to shore for over a decade, and most recently over the last several months. Large whales in rivers can be especially concerning due to the potential threats they face in this environment. When the response team arrived, we found a female humpback whale ✨calf✨ who had passed away within the last several hours. Her species, age, location, and fresh condition were all essential to d Son, the public’s help at the town landing, and Benson Farm for the necropsy site and

26/08/2026

Late Friday afternoon, 8/21, Marine Mammals of Maine’s stranding hotline received an important report that quickly mobilized our response team-a freshly deceased humpback whale in the New Meadows River in Phippsburg, Maine. Executive Director, Lynda Doughty and MMoME stranding staff loaded specialized large whale response gear, only to find what we were not exactly expecting.
MMoME has been fielding calls of large whales close to shore for over a decade, and most recently over the last several months. Large whales in rivers can be especially concerning due to the potential threats they face in this environment. When the response team arrived, we found a female humpback whale ✨calf✨ who had passed away within the last several hours. Her species, age, location, and fresh condition were all essential to investigate, and she was towed and transported for necropsy.
On Saturday, a full internal and external evaluation was performed by MMoME, finding her to be 20 feet long and between 6 and 9 months old (still maternally dependent). She was emaciated with very little muscle or fat and there were few stomach contents, which supports her poor body condition. There were no other gross necropsy findings. Samples collected from the

25/08/2026

Aumākua is moving around a lot from the last spring tide. At high tide, she is twisting and folding.
This is only day 15 of her decomposition after washing up in Walker Bay, South Africa on the 2nd of July 2026
We are studying her decomposing and giving back to the ecosystem. She is in a remote location far from civilization so allowed to rest where she is.
Follow my reels from day 1 when I found her.