Humans can’t touch whales.
It’s not because they’re dangerous. It’s because they have soft skin that is thin and filled with nerve receptors. That makes them more susceptible to illnesses or diseases.
That’s why it was so surprising that this whale wanted the captain to touch it.
When they got closer, the captain found out the reason why. Paco Jimenez Franco, the captain, has had more than 20 years of sea experience and he has seen dozens, if not hundreds, of whales when out sailing.
One of the places he sails to is the Ojo de Liebre lagoon.
The whales already know him when they see him. They’re already comfortable enough with him that they always approach his boat.
One day, he realized one of the whales that swam up to him had sea lice all over it.
He picked off some of the lice off of the whale. The whale must have felt relieved because the whale actually came closer to the captain and asked, in whale terms, to pick off the rest of the lice.
The captain obliged the whale.
What are sea lice or whale lice? Whale lice (Cyamus boopis) are parasites that hitch a ride on whale’s bodies. They feed off the algae attached to whales’ bodies and end up attached to the whale as well.
“The lice look extremely small when you see them but when you think about the whales being up to 15 meters [50 feet] in length, you realize that the lice are quite big. Many of the lice we see would be around 10 millimeters [0.4 inches],” Annika Dahlberg of Blue Dolphin Marine Tours shared.
While the lice eat the algae off the whale, they also end up eating dead skin and wounds.
Unfortunately, once the lice are hitched to the whale’s body, the only way to get rid of it is through two solutions. One is when a whale comes into contact with another whale. The lice will “hop” onto the other whale.
Two is when a human picks the lice off of the whale.
That is what this sea captain did and he provided instant and much-needed relief for the whale. The lice can be found on all sides of the whale. Thank goodness that they have not completely taken over the whale.
Otherwise, if the whale was fully covered in lice, then the whale could already be suffering from poor health and be dying.
“When you do get a very sick or injured humpback whale and its swimming slows down, that whale lice population explodes,” Peter Lynch, a tour boat operator, said.
Watching the video, you could see how grateful the whale is for the captain.
The captain was just all too happy to help out the whale, especially since this isn’t the first time he has done something like this to help them. Apparently, he’s done this numerous times.
“I have done it repeatedly, with the same whale and others,” Captain Franco shared. “It is very exciting for me.”
Watch how the captain helped the whale with its lice problem in the video below.
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