Humpback whales enjoy some ‘spa’ time together on the ocean floor

Some spas have a saltwater pool, but this is a higher level.

Scientists who studied humpback whales off Australia’s Gold Coast found that the large marine mammals were attracted to a sandy, shallow area of ​​the ocean floor where they appeared to remove dead skin. A press release from Australia’s Griffith University, whose researchers led the study, likened the process to visiting a “day spa”.

Scientists made the discovery after affixing tracking tags to three humpback whales. The tags could take video (a little Or-whalian if you ask us) as the animals migrated south between August 2021 and October 2022. The video footage they obtained revealed both tagged and untagged whales. labeled rolling on the sandy bottom several times.

“They were doing these weird rolls, going completely on their backs and on their sides,” Griffith University marine ecologist and lead study author Dr Olaf Meynecke told the Australian Associated Press.

Researchers think the whales treated themselves to a bit of exfoliation.

“You could actually see the skin peel off,” Meynecke said. “And then the fish would come and eat it. The fish were also picking up the whale’s skin, not just the floating skin. He added that the rolling sessions all took place in the same general area off Main Beach in Queensland.

In the study, published in the March edition of the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, the researchers raised “the possibility” that tagged whales that rolled were trying to remove their tags. However, they said this was unlikely because tagged and untagged whales exhibited the same behavior. On top of that, the sand rolling “didn’t target” the places where the beacons had been placed.

They suspect that in addition to dead skin, the whales were removing barnacles. In warmer waters, barnacles often attach themselves to the skin of whales. If not removed periodically, sticky crustaceans can develop and prevent humpback whales from moving freely.

Meynecke told AAP that for some whales, sandrolling seemed like a social occasion.

“We had two whales swimming together for several hours,” he said. “They clearly had a really good relationship, and they were both rolling around on the floor together and having a great time.”

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Published on April 21, 2023 16:06
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