Do barnacles and lice make whales itchy? How do whales scratch themselves?

Let’s talk about the second form first. Scratching the itchy flesh is called “geji” in our place (I don’t know what it is called in your place). Adults like to “geji” children, and then the children will giggle constantly.

Itchy patches are extremely rare in the animal kingdom and are thought to occur only in humans and our closest primate relatives (chimpanzees and bonobos).

Another animal that may have this problem is mice, which also make sounds of pleasure when they are tickled, but not all researchers agree.

Apart from this, this ability has not been found in any other animals, including whales.

Tickle balls are thought to have evolved in great apes as a form of social bonding, creating relaxed interactions between parents and children that foster and maintain affection.

Some researchers also believe that geji can help young children hone self-defense skills by developing responses to protect sensitive or vulnerable areas, such as the neck and ribs, when playing or tickling with peers.

Commons

Another type of itch is very common in the animal kingdom. Most animals experience this itch. Animals have evolved this behavior to defend against those terrible insects, reptiles, and parasites.

When these small animals scratch across our skin, the skin immediately sends a signal to the brain, which responds with an itch to remove the small animals and prevent them from causing harm to the body.

The itchiness we feel after being bitten by a mosquito is probably a "simulation" of the reaction that this evolutionary mechanism brings to the brain.

Although whales live in the ocean, they cannot escape the risk of being parasitized, so they have 100% retained this evolutionary mechanism, so whales will definitely have this form of itch.

In the world of whales, there are two very typical "parasites" that are probably their most annoying - barnacles and whale lice.

Image: Barnacles on a humpback whale

What effects do barnacles on whales have on them?

There are many types of barnacles, with at least 1,000 species in the ocean, many of which parasitize whales. Some species of whales even have three different types of barnacles at the same time. All of these barnacles that parasitize whales are believed to have evolved from sea turtle barnacles.

By hitching a ride on the whales, the barnacles gain a relatively safe and open habitat, and when the whales swim, there is enough water flowing over them, which is very conducive to their filter feeding.

Whale barnacles often appear on the belly and back of whales, which are their most ideal habitats. Among them, baleen whales are the most affected, with barnacles found on most of them, while toothed whales are less affected.

It's unclear how and when barnacles actually attach themselves to whales, but it is known that they begin as small larvae-like organisms that live in the ocean and look for or wait for a host.

Humpback whale's skin is riddled with barnacles Annette Teng

Once they get close to a whale, the barnacle larvae embed themselves into the whale's skin and remain there, and as they grow they form a hard shell around themselves to cover the soft interior and burrow further into the whale's skin to get a good grip.

Although individual barnacles are very small and it is difficult for them to cause harm to whales, the total weight of a whole group of barnacles can be very staggering. They can reach 450 kilograms. I guess no one would want to carry such a heavy thing around.

Joe McKenna

In addition, barnacle parasitism provides a "refuge" for another whale parasite - whale lice, increasing the health risks of whales.

Whale lice are not insects, they are marine crustaceans that live primarily in the folds and wounds of whales, eating the flaking skin and flesh in open wound areas.

Figure: Whale lice like to parasitize in the folds of whales

Healthy whales generally have only a small number of whale lice - about 5,000 or so. This number of whale lice will not have much impact on the whales, but unhealthy whales will have a lot of whale lice, which will damage the whale's skin and make the whale even more unhealthy.

If we want to understand how whales scratch themselves, we just need to know how they get rid of these two parasites.

The size of whale lice Kitefarrago/flikr

How do whales scratch themselves?

The main reason why unhealthy whales have a lot of whale lice is that they swim slower, which allows more whale lice to stay on the whales better.

So, the first way whales scratch themselves is to swim quickly, letting the water rush over their skin.

In addition to swimming quickly, whales will also jump out of the water and then let themselves fall heavily into the water. Many whales do this not simply to play, but to get rid of parasites on their bodies or to scratch themselves.

Harold Moses/Flikr

Using seawater to deal with whale lice may be effective, but it is not ideal for dealing with barnacles. After all, the purpose of barnacles parasitizing whales is to make the whales swim quickly to create feeding conditions for themselves. They are almost completely bonded to the whale's skin.

To deal with barnacles, whales have a second "tickling" method. They will sink themselves to the bottom of the sea or on the edge of a cliff, swing their bodies and rub against the rocks to rub the barnacles off.

In addition to finding solutions on their own, there is a third method for whales living in groups, which is to play with their companions through physical contact to help remove parasites from their bodies.

These are the three main ways whales scratch themselves, but each one seems to be quite troublesome.

at last

In fact, in the animal kingdom, it is not just whales. It is very difficult for most animals to scratch themselves.

You'll find that even a simple tickle requires a huge amount of energy. Imagine how much energy a whale needs to leap its huge body out of the water.

For humans, we have very flexible hands, which makes tickling a low-energy and efficient task, which is the talent of our race.

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