Research has shown that some marine mammals do mourn their dead.

While diving off Hawaii's Big Island earlier this year, free diver and underwater photographer Deron Verbeck captured an image of something as beautiful and touching as it was tragic. 

"The Procession," as Verbeck calls the shot, shows a male short-finned pilot whale  carrying a dead calf in its mouth while swimming alongside two female whales.

On his Facebook page, Verbeck writes that while there have been many reports of whales and dolphins carrying and "mourning" their dead offspring, this was his first time seeing it.

"It was a pretty heavy and heart wrenching scene as the whales slowly passed by carrying their dead calf," he writes.

At the time of the encounter, Verbeck was working with National Geographic photographer Brian Skerry off the coast of Kailua-Kona. Underneath a photo he posted to his own Facebook page, Skerry writes that he and Verbeck understood they were witnessing something special. 

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