Humans have discovered ways to eliminate old, dead skin cells – and it seems that humpback whales have also made this self-care advancement.
Whales will wallow in sandy, shallow bays to remove dead skin cells and barnacles, based on a latest study from Griffith University.
Some tagged whales were caught doing this routine on high-definition video in Queensland, Australia.
Based on Griffith University, whales have been seen “performing full and sideways rolls” in water as much as 160 feet deep and lined with advantageous sand or debris.
The video was taken between August 2021 and October 2022 because the whales migrated south to cooler waters.
“Each time the sand rolled, the whales were observed on video as they slowly moved forward with their head within the sand after which rolled sideways or a full turn,” said marine ecologist Dr Olaf Meynecke.
Meynecke added that researchers most frequently saw sand whales rolling within the context of social gatherings equivalent to courtship or competition.
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Based on Meynecke, whales can remove dead skin and barnacles through surface activity equivalent to plucking, but sand rolling also plays an integral role – especially in removing barnacles.
Barnacles needs to be fought often in order that they don’t cause resistance and energy loss.
Whale skin was observed to fall off in the course of the means of all identified rolls, the university said, with some smaller fish even feeding on the whale skin.