Why Are Whales Making A Fashion Out Of Seaweed Hats?

Marine mammals are known for their gamey tier of intelligence , their social skills , and their association withNetflix documentaries . However , most mass in all likelihood would n’t list skin care as one of a whale ’s most famous activeness – and that ’s where they ’d be wrong . Whileorcasand humpback whales have been filmed enjoying aspa day , now they ’ve got a new skin care method acting involving kelp .

Baleen whales including kyphosis whale ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) have been observe “ kelping ” and swim around with seaweed on their head word . Off the east glide of Australia , three verbatim observation of hunchback whale roll around and actively seek kelp beds or seaweed have been record . This behavior has also been seen in gray whale ( Eschrichtius robustus ) , which are known to flow on both seaweed and seagrasses .

By analyzing 100 social media station regarding hulk and seaweed interaction recorded by citizen scientist , whale - watching go , and members of the world , the team found that the most often discovered areas for the whales to have seaweed on themselves were between their front fin and the front of their face , called the rostrum . This represented 56 percent of the societal medium fundamental interaction . Uncrewed aerial vehicles ( UAVs ) were also used to observe whale and seaweed interactions , they film whales rolling with seaweed wrapped around different flipper or on their rostrums .

So what are the whales up to ? The research worker suggest that they are using the kelp as a kind of exfoliant helping to remove sponge such as the heavyweight louse , dead skin , and bacteria from their bodies , there may also be an component of plainly meet with the seaweed for downright delectation .

“ There are two plausible theories : play and/or self - medicine with seaweed . This demeanor may be playful but could also serve additional benefit in the setting of find out and socialising , as well as ectoparasite removal and skin discourse by using brown alga ’s antibacterial holding . ” said Dr Olaf Meynecke , the paper ’s lead author , in a statement .

With the increase role of UAVs in this setting , the team have a bun in the oven to see more observation of this behavior . However , they also intimate that the consequences ofkelp diebackcould present some issues , and conservation campaign may need to admit this in succeeding plan .

The newspaper publisher is published in theJournal Of Marine Science And Engineering .