Featured Image Credit: Andrew Stevenson
By Sarah Sharkey
Using a borrowed camera, Andrew Stevenson witnessed and recorded first-of-its-kind footage. Two humpback whales were using a patch of sand as a “spa treatment.” The whales most likely used this sand to exfoliate their skin, but they could have also been engaging in this behavior for pure pleasure.
The experienced free diver, Stevenson, wrote in a Facebook post “The two humpbacks were rubbing their backs, sides, pectoral fins, flukes, noses, chins, tops of their head, armpits in the lovely Bermuda sand.” He even went on to compare the whales to “Labradors rubbing themselves down ecstatically on a carpet.” With that description, it is clear that the whales enjoyed the experience even if the rub down also had a practical purpose.
Andrew Stevenson is a resident of Hamilton, Bermuda and he captured some exciting footage on camera in his own backyard. While witnessing this event, he was not worried about the whales when they rolled over onto their backs on the sandy bottom because he is familiar with these whales. In fact, one of the whales in the footage was first identified in Bermuda in 1984.
It is known that belugas, orcas and grey whales partake in this behavior, but this may be the first time that a humpback has been documented engaging in this kind of behavior.