Images of a rare white whale calf have been captured by scientists using drones to study the endangered animals off the coast of Western Australia.
Only about 5% of calves are born white, and they darken to grey in their first year.
Researchers hope the survey of the south right whales will help conservation efforts.
"Drones are allowing us to non-invasively measure the size and body condition of free living southern right whales," said Fredrik Christiansen, a researcher at Murdoch University's Cetacean Research Unit.
The drones are part of an innovative programme, which also attaches tags to the whales to measure their dives and sounds.
The footage was taken by Christiansen and Lars Bejder, who said the drones provided a new perspective on the animals.
"Little is known about the three dimensional movements and habitat-use of southern right whales in their breeding and calving grounds in Australia," he said.
"Little is known about the three dimensional movements and habitat-use of southern right whales in their breeding and calving grounds in Australia," he said.
He added that the information is vital for the animal's conservation, as many areas in the region are earmarked for developments which would see an increase in shipping and tourism.
Numbers of southern right whales dwindled during the last century, but while there are signs of recovery, there are still only 3,000 thought to live in Australian waters.
"Our aim is not only to study the behavioural ecology of these amazing animals, but also to provide information to industry and management towards conservation," said Mr Bejder.
Suction cup tags are carefully attached to the animals via hand-held poles, and they stay stuck on for up to 24 hours, measuring and recording the depth, pitch and roll of swimming behaviour.
"The tag also records sound, which is sufficient for measuring sounds made by boats and those heard by the whales," he said.
The whales only live in in the oceans of the southern hemisphere. They inhabit waters close to Antarctica during the summer and migrate further north in winter.
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