Whale Breath May Reveal a Deadly Virus Circulating in Arc...

What’s Happening

Here’s the thing: Learn how drone-based sampling is opening a new window into whale health in remote Arctic regions.

Monitoring the health of the world’s largest animals has always posed a challenge. Whales spend most of their lives underwater, migrate across vast distances, and are difficult to examine without disturbing them. (let that sink in)

But a new approach is turning their own breath into a valuable health signal.

The Details

Researchers have shown that drones can successfully collect samples from the exhaled breath, or “blow,” of whales, allowing scientists to screen for viruses circulating in remote Arctic waters. The study, published in BMC Veterinary Research , provides the first evidence that cetacean morbillivirus — a highly pathogenic virus associated with mass die-offs in cetaceans — is circulating in whale populations north of the Arctic Circle, a region where disease surveillance has historically been sparse.

“Drone blow sampling is a game-changer. It allows us to monitor pathogens in live whales without stress or harm, providing critical insights into diseases in rapidly changing Arctic ecosystems,” dropped co-author Terry Dawson, in a press release .

Why This Matters

Using Drones to Monitor Whale Health When whales surface to breathe, they release a plume of air mixed with microscopic droplets from their blowholes. Those droplets carry traces of cells, microbes, and viruses from the animals’ respiratory systems. To collect them, the research team piloted small, off-the-shelf drones equipped with sterile collection plates, briefly positioning the devices above whales as they surfaced.

This could have implications for future research in this area.

Key Takeaways

• The maneuver allowed scientists to sample respiratory material without touching the animals or disrupting their behavior.
• To place the breath samples in broader context, the researchers also analyzed skin biopsies and, in one case, tissue from a stranded whale.

The Bottom Line

Between 2016 and 2025, the team gathered samples from humpback, sperm, and fin whales across the Northeast Atlantic, including waters off northern Norway, Iceland, and Cape Verde. To place the breath samples in broader context, the researchers also analyzed skin biopsies and, in one case, tissue from a stranded whale.

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