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The life of a whale is busy, with annual migrations from the poles to the tropics. But that doesn’t stop them from having a bit of fun, according to research, which found they like to play with seaweed as they swim.
In a study in the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, researchers document instances of what they call “kelping”, in which baleen whales like humpbacks find floating seaweed, then roll in it and rub up against it. Using aerial observations and social media posts, the researchers documented 163 whales’ interaction with seaweed.
A humpback whale calf ascends to the surface to breathe. A new study found whales like playing with seaweed.Credit: Brandon Cole/Majestic Whale Encounters
The whales – mostly humpbacks, with two grey whales, two southern right whales and a northern right whale – were spotted throwing, lifting, swimming through and rubbing up against clumps of seaweed, even wrapping it around their own fins. Aerial observations were made off Australia’s east coast, but the behaviour was also spotted in North America.
Given better aerial observation tools and technology such as social media, the researchers write, it’s now possible to document kelping in whales that, although social, aren’t thought to play with objects as often as other marine creatures such as dolphins. They found the behaviour in four distinct humpback whale populations, with adults most likely to interact with the seaweed.
What drives the whales to fuss with the seaweed fronds?
There are several potential answers, the researchers write. The whales could be using the seaweed to treat skin bacteria with algae from the kelp. Or they might be seeking out a playful sensory experience, finding a “welcome sensation” as the kelp brushes against their tubercles – sensitive lumps that give humpbacks their bumpy appearance.
It could also be pure play, a behaviour that can boost learning and help animals survive in the wild.
The researchers call for more work on whales’ kelping, especially given recent, large kelp die-offs that have endangered kelp beds in Australia, California and elsewhere.
And aside from helping direct conservation efforts, the researchers identify another reason to keep looking out for kelping whales – publicising the practice can engage people outside the scientific community, too, “fostering public engagement in species conservation”.
Bloomberg
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