Birds, cats, dogs molt, but a whale?

Everybody knows that when autumn arrives, a lot of animals, like the birds, cats and dogs, will be molting to adapt themself to the change of the season, but marine scientists have examined a group of whales near Canada in 2014, that showed the same symptoms.

Near the coast of Canada in 2014, group researcher Sarah Fortune, encountered a group of Bowhead whales acting strange. Behavior as rubbing and “rock-nosing” had been observed and they decided to collect a skin sample, which revealed that the whales had loose epidermis and sloughing.

Then, during a drone-overflight in August 2016, the same scientists had been taking pictures and videos of the same occurrence. Again the whales had shown behavior of rubbing their heads, backs and sides against the rocks in shallow, coastal areas. The images revealed that 40% of the whales had mottled skin over more than two-thirds of their bodies
Apparently, molting appears in the late summer for whales in the eastern Canadian Arctic. The reseachers say that it helps them rid of the sun-damaged skin and parasites.

Sources:
PlosOne
Sciencemag