Humpback Whales Self-Grooming on Seafloor Caught on Film for First Time
Humpback whales have been filmed for the first time rolling on sandy seabeds to exfoliate and remove ectoparasites, such as barnacles, from their skin. The whales were observed performing full and side "sand rolls" up to 164 feet below the ocean's surface in the Gold Coast Bay in southeast Queensland, Australia. Researchers from Griffith University in Australia tagged three humpback whales using suction-cup sensors that recorded high-definition video, as well as light, pressure, temperature, and GPS data. The whales picked a shallow, sandy location near their migration route to exfoliate, moving head first through the substrate while they rolled.