Smart Orcas Use Iceberg To Rub Itchy Skin in Rare Video [Watch]

Whales have skincare routines because they itch. When they are in Antarctica and can't wait to scratch their itch, they use the icebergs to help relieve themselves.

Orcas Use Iceberg To Scratch Their Itch

An upcoming documentary series titled "Incredible Animal Journeys" by National Geographic showed killer whales' surprising skincare routine for the first time. A clip featured a pod of orca swimming near an Antarctic iceberg.

According to the teaser, they use the iceberg as "scratching posts" to rub their itchy skin.

"This is behavior so rare that it's only been witnessed by a handful of people," said Sarah Gibbs, one of the series' producers. "We all need to look after our skin, but this pod of orca has a unique problem. Unable to molt in these sub-zero seas, a yellowy green algae builds up on their skin."

These orcas, also called killer whales, inhabit some of the planet's wealthiest waters, which surround Antacannoter. They are the coldest, and the local orcas have health issues since it is so complex that they are unable to shed their skin.

The orcas must travel about a round trip to warmer tropical waters, where they can exfoliate and maintain their cleanliness in order to stay healthy. This journey can take several weeks. However, there are instances when orcas found the waiting time too long.

When this happens, they need to look for something closer to home to address the itching, according to Gibbs. In the clip, a pod of orcas has figured out how to use icebergs as scratching posts to remove dead skin cells from their skin's outer layers. It demonstrates the other sides of the killer whales, especially their intelligence and resourcefulness.

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Why Do Whales Itch?

Orcas are not the only mammals with an impeccable skincare routine. A previous study using modern geolocation and video technology captured humpback whales exfoliating themselves on the shallow ocean floor.

The humpbacks were seen "sand rolling." According to Jan-Olaf Meynecke, the study's lead author, the behavior is a way to remove baby barnacles from difficult-to-reach skin fissures in their head; that's why they move their heads forward into the sand before rolling to one side. They reportedly need constant shedding to reduce bacterial and viral infections.

Meynecke added that whales do not want those barnacles attached to them. In terms of dynamics, they are a burden because their weight slows down the whales' swimming pace during the migration.

A group of gray whales was also spotted taking a break from their migration by hanging out along California's coastline for a rubdown. A gray whale was spotted over 12 feet of water rubbing against the sand.

It is believed that they engaged in such behavior to eliminate the parasites in their skin in the warm waters near Baja. In another sighting, a pod of orcas was also seen rubbing themselves along a smooth pebble shoreline in British Columbia.