Humpback whales ‘rolling’ off Australian coast, photos show. Experts might know why

Ask most 16-year-olds about their dream skin care routine, and you’ll probably get an extensive list of top-of-the-line products ranging from serums to exfoliants to lotions.

Humpback whales might have a cheaper alternative though: rolling in sandy, shallow bays to exfoliate and remove dead skin to get their “spa fix,” according to researchers at Griffith University in Australia.

New photos and videos shows humpback whales stopping along the Gold Coast to “roll” while migrating south to cooler waters, the university said in an April 21 news release. Using suction-cup tags, researchers tracked the whales as they migrated between August 2021 and October 2022.

“On all occasions of sand rolling, the whales were observed on video to be slowly moving forward with their head first into the sand followed by rolling to one side or a full roll,” Olaf Meynecke, a marine ecologist from from the university-led Whales and Climate Research Program and Coastal and Marine Research Centre, said in the release. “We believe that the whales exfoliate using the sand to assist with moulting and removal of ectoparasites such as barnacle and specifically select areas suitable for this behaviour.”

Researchers said skin care is essential for mammals like whales, according to a study released March 12.

“Removing excess skin is likely a necessity to maintain a healthy bacterial skin community,” Meynecke said in the news release. “Humpback whales can remove some barnacles and skin through surface activity such as breaches but not all.”

Experts said the rolling could also be connected to socializing or could be a calming technique for the whales, according to the study.

All of the whales observed rolling were involved in some kind of social activity — including courtship or competition — before they rolled, the study said. Experts plan to continue researching the behavior, especially as a calming technique for whales.

The Gold Coast is on Australia’s eastern coast, about 50 miles south of Brisbane.

This story was originally published May 1, 2023 at 10:04 AM with the headline "Humpback whales ‘rolling’ off Australian coast, photos show. Experts might know why."

Moira Ritter

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Moira Ritter covers real-time news for McClatchy. She is a graduate of Georgetown University where she studied government, journalism and German. Previously, she reported for CNN Business.