Posted on Aug 21, 2023
This video from a humpback 'whale spa' shows skin care is serious — and social
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https://www.npr.org/2023/08/21/ [login to see] /this-video-from-a-humpback-whale-spa-shows-skin-care-is-serious-and-social
Studying what whales do underwater has always been hard, but thanks to new video and geolocation technology, scientists are now able to snag little glimpses of life beneath the sea and bring them to the surface.
And what they've seen can be surprising and delightful — like humpback whales exfoliating themselves on the shallow ocean floor.
"There was definitely no intention to capture whales rolling in sand," says Jan-Olaf Meynecke, who described the behavior in a recent paper in the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering. "The best thing about science is that you never know what you're actually looking for."
Studying what whales do underwater has always been hard, but thanks to new video and geolocation technology, scientists are now able to snag little glimpses of life beneath the sea and bring them to the surface.
And what they've seen can be surprising and delightful — like humpback whales exfoliating themselves on the shallow ocean floor.
"There was definitely no intention to capture whales rolling in sand," says Jan-Olaf Meynecke, who described the behavior in a recent paper in the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering. "The best thing about science is that you never know what you're actually looking for."
This video from a humpback 'whale spa' shows skin care is serious — and social
Posted from npr.org
Wildlife
Video
Technology
Science
Posted 8 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."What were the humpbacks doing?
Although visually exciting, the video footage isn’t the focus for this particular project. Meynecke referred to the footage as a useful “add-on” that helps verify the other data, such as the whale’s speed and direction, and the depth and temperature of the water.
The team first caught the whales engaged in “sand rolling” while reviewing some footage from August 2021.
“I remember sitting there with my colleagues and we were laughing about it,” says Meynecke, “Like, what? What are the whales doing? Like, why are they rolling on the sand?”
At first Meynecke wondered if the whale was trying to scrape the digital tag off of its dorsal fin. But the camera simultaneously captured another whale nearby, untagged, also spiraling through the sand. So it couldn’t be that."...
..."What were the humpbacks doing?
Although visually exciting, the video footage isn’t the focus for this particular project. Meynecke referred to the footage as a useful “add-on” that helps verify the other data, such as the whale’s speed and direction, and the depth and temperature of the water.
The team first caught the whales engaged in “sand rolling” while reviewing some footage from August 2021.
“I remember sitting there with my colleagues and we were laughing about it,” says Meynecke, “Like, what? What are the whales doing? Like, why are they rolling on the sand?”
At first Meynecke wondered if the whale was trying to scrape the digital tag off of its dorsal fin. But the camera simultaneously captured another whale nearby, untagged, also spiraling through the sand. So it couldn’t be that."...
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
SGT (Join to see) Not Much Different from the Orcas of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
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They pick up all sorts of hitchhikers and this is the best way to get rid of them
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