Grey whale barnacle landscape
Close up of a gray whale's blow holes and surrounding barnacles and whale lice. Both barnacles and whale lice are crustaceans that hitch a ride on gray whales. Barnacles are freeloaders looking for an easy way to capture a meal from the water as it flows past. On the other hand, lice provide a bit of a service to their host by removing dead and damaged skin. Whales can get heavily infested, with some hauling around a few hundred extra pounds of these critters. But they create fascinating patterns both while on the whale, and in the marks they leave when they fall off.
grey whalegray whalebarnacleMexicoPacific OceanBajaBaja Californiawhale watchingLaguna Ojo de LiebreGuerrero Negrosea lifewhales
