Whales are majestic creatures, but they are notoriously hard to study for researchers. Many of their species are elusive as they live in large and deep oceans, making it difficult to track them. Others are so huge that it is impossible to capture and examine them.However, a team of scientists has now come up with an innovative method to study whales. The researchers have used drones to collect samples from the breath of wild whales living in the Arctic. This helped them to detect a disease-causing virus linked to mass strandings of whales and dolphins worldwide. It is the first time that the virus — called cetacean morbillivirus — has been found circulating in Arctic waters.The study, ‘Deep breath out: molecular survey of selected pathogens in blow and skin biopsies from North Atlantic cetaceans’, was published in the journal BMC Veterinary Research last month.The methodTypically, scientists collect samples from wild whales by getting close to them in a boat and taking skin biopsies by shooting a dart gun, which leaves a small wound on the animals. Otherwise, most of the samples come from whales that are dead. The samples are then tested for different hormones, pathogens or pollutants.In the latest study, however, scientists collected samples of the breath of whales. They did so by flying a drone over surfacing whales, which they operated from a nearby boat. Note that whales breathe through their blowholes, which are like nostrils on their heads. The researchers used live camera footage to hover the drone over a whale that seemed to be about to blow. The exhales were collected on petri dishes attached to the drone.Helena Costa, a veterinarian at Nord University, who led the study, told The New York Times, “It’s a little bit crazy that you can collect air from a whale and actually detect something.”Between 2022 and 2025, Costa and her team collected more than 50 blow samples from humpback, sperm and fin whales, which inhabited regions such as northern Norway, Iceland and Cape Verde off the coast of West Africa.Story continues below this adScientists say drones have proved to be incredibly useful in studying whales and are also a less invasive method.Also in Explained | What are ginkgo-toothed beaked whales, spotted in the wild by researchers for the first time?The virusCetacean morbillivirus is infectious among marine mammals such as dolphins, whales, and porpoises. Since its discovery in 1987, this virus has been responsible for numerous outbreaks across the world, especially in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean. It impacts the respiratory and neurological systems of the marine mammals, and can lead to mass strandings and deaths. The virus can jump between species through direct contact and respiratory droplets.Despite its prevalence, cetacean morbillivirus had not been detected in Arctic waters for the longest time. “The lack of reported cases in the region may reflect gaps in surveillance rather than the true absence of the virus,” the NYT report said.Story continues below this adNow, by testing the blow samples, the scientists involved in the new study have found it in two humpback whale groups in northern Norway, a sperm whale showing poor health, and a stranded pilot whale.The scientists hope that, over time, with more data, they will be able to identify patterns of disease transmission. Costa told NPR, “Obviously, four years of data is interesting, but if we have 30 years of data, we can understand better the dynamics of the circulation of these pathogens…how some stressors, for example, pollutants or climate change, are affecting these dynamics of these diseases.”Although currently there are no protocols to treat sick whales, researchers and authorities can help the large mammals by reducing their stress during illness. This can be done, for example, by changing the routes of ships to avoid interaction between them and the sick whales.