Humpback Whale Skin Peeling From Sunburn

This is a piece of skin that was shed from the dorsal surface of the fluke of a female humpback whale. The whale repeatedly held her fluke above the surface of the ocean while resting in a head-down position, such that her body was oriented vertically in the water. There was significant peeling or shedding of skin from the fluke’s dorsal surface, most likely due to normal sloughing off of skin. I speculate that another possibility could be that the whale may have had sunburn as a consequence of her resting behaviour. Note the pattern of the skin. Date of encounter was 18 August 2017. See separate photos of fluke above water.

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This is a piece of skin that was shed from the dorsal surface of the fluke of a female humpback whale. The whale repeatedly held her fluke above the surface of the ocean while resting in a head-down position, such that her body was oriented vertically in the water. There was significant peeling or shedding of skin from the fluke’s dorsal surface, most likely due to normal sloughing off of skin. I speculate that another possibility could be that the whale may have had sunburn as a consequence of her resting behaviour. Note the pattern of the skin. Date of encounter was 18 August 2017. See separate photos of fluke above water.