When you purchase through data link on our website , we may realize an affiliate commission . Here ’s how it works .
Humpback giant romp in seaweed — a behavior sleep together as " kelping " — is more widespread than previously thought and constitutes a " global phenomenon , " new research has get .
Kelping was first detect in 2007 , and scientists havedescribed the behaviorbefore — but only as isolated consequence . It turn out , humpbacks across the reality revel the leafy caress of seaweed on their skin , both as a course of play and as a potentially soothing eubstance scrub .
Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) playing with seaweed is a behavior known as kelping.
" It ’s something they do together as a social outcome or by themselves , " study lead authorOlaf Meynecke , a research fellow at Griffith University ’s Coastal and Marine Research Centre in Queensland , Australia , told Live Science . " They put the seaweed on their head and roll around in it ; they attempt to move it around with their pectoral fin as well . "
For the novel study , investigator examined 95 social culture medium posts documenting kelping in humpback whale , span across the North - East Pacific and North Atlantic to the west and east coasts of Australia .
Related : Orcas and humpbacks jar in a violent melee of breach and bite
Seaweed, such as kelp, may have antimicrobial properties and help whales maintain their skin health.
And while the term " kelping " suggests a predilection for kelp — magnanimous brown algae that develop in comparatively shallow waters near the shore — Megaptera novaeangliae whales(Megaptera novaeangliae ) interact with different case of seaweed , Meynecke said .
" The whale do n’t seem to be that picky , " he allege . " Whatever was available in the realm was what the whale interacted and diddle with . "
Humpbacks belong to a mathematical group of filter - feeding whales bang as baleen whales , which are known to interact with objects in their ocean home ground . crookback whales sometimes play with logs and driftwood , as well as with sportfishing gear and jellyfish , according to the Modern report , write Sept. 15 in theJournal of Marine Science and Engineering .
Seaweed probably feel lenient and pleasant against their skin , Meynecke say . Along their jaws and around their top dog , crookback have sensational , extremely innervate haircloth that may be stimulated when they brush against seaweed .
" It ’s very open from drone footage that the whales are targeting the kelp and sometimes exit a seedpod of whales to go directly for the kelp , " Meynecke say .
Kelping also may have therapeutic benefits , as it could aid humpbacks shed parasite and bacteria that colonize their pelt . " Just that rubbing will get free of some of those little guys , " Meynecke allege . Seaweed is conceive to have antimicrobial property , but more research is needed to tax whether this hold to tool that hitchhike on the whales .
kyphosis whales sometimes burn down on seaweed and overstretch it underwater before rent go of it again , which may serve to cancel the insides of their mouths , Meynecke said . " They ’re grab it with their sassing — which is really interesting , because they ’re baleen whales that do n’t have teeth , and for them to prick something is not a instinctive instinct , " he said .
But sponger could be ticktock humpback at their own game by latch onto patches of seaweed and jumping across when giant come for a scrub , Meynecke said .
This would n’t be the first evidence of these heavyweight doing skin care . Earlier this year , for the first time , researchers filmedhumpbacks treating themselves to a full consistence scrubbing on the seafloor .
— Baby Moby Dick ? rarified white humpback whale calfskin filmed off Australia
— Rare white hunchback giant make out swim with dolphins Down Under
— Whale sighting in Australia hints at ' super unusual ' interspecies borrowing
Playing in patches of seaweed could also heighten erudition and strengthen social ties when several whales get involved , accord to the field . " This is about coordination , mobility and the enjoyment of get something to wager with , " Meynecke read .
Butclimate changecould ruin the whales ' fun by shift the distribution of seaweed , especially kelp , Meynecke cautioned . " Kelp has been under uttermost focus with ocean warming , " he said . The proliferation of species that feed on kelp , such as sea urchins , is also worrying , he added , because " they can turn an awesome , beautiful timberland of kelp into a complete desert . "
