It is a poignant mourning ritual that is rarely seen – and even more rarely captured on camera.

Struggling against the rough seas, a dolphin carries her dead baby on its final journey.

While a boat full of tourists watched the heartbreaking scene, the baby dolphin slipped from its mother’s back five times as she battled against the tide.

But on each occasion, she plucked it from the waves and continued her lonely voyage.

The dolphin was thought to be moving her dead calf away from the shore to lay it to rest in deeper water. A large gash, approximately a foot long, was visible across the calf’s belly.

It is possible the infant was killed by the propeller of a boat – perhaps even one of the many that take visitors out on day trips.

The pictures were taken by tourists in China’s Guangxi Zhuang region, which is known for its dolphin-watching tours.

In the past, researchers have observed dolphins carrying or pushing stillborn calves or those that die in their infancy.

They sometimes stay with their dead baby for several days. Mourning rituals are rare in the animal kingdom, but have also been observed in whales, elephants, chimps and gorillas.

While experts are reluctant to attribute human emotions to animals, the behaviour seems to show that dolphins have some awareness of mortality – and may even contemplate their eventual death.

Researcher Joan Gonzalvo, of the Tethys Research Institute in Italy, observed a similar scene of a mother carrying its dead calf on its back. He said that the mother seemed unable to accept the death.

【新聞快訊】

7月8日，一名游客在游覽廣西欽州三娘灣時目睹感人一幕。一只體長約3米的成年海豚馱著一具體長1.5米的海豚尸體向深海游去，像是要背死掉的孩子“回家”。

這只小海豚已經(jīng)死亡，露出的腹部有條長約30厘米的傷口，血跡已經(jīng)變黑。成年海豚馱著它快速向深海游去。但因為風(fēng)浪較大，僅在三分鐘時間里，小海豚從成年海豚后背滑落5次，都差點沉到海底，哪怕游船再靠近，成年海豚也不顧一切，當(dāng)即轉(zhuǎn)頭回來潛下去又把小海豚馱浮起來繼續(xù)前進?！　?/p>

在這個海灘附近生活了60多年老船工目睹后說：只聽說過有海豚救人的故事，但是親眼所見海豚這種同類不離不棄還是第一次。