The discovery of a stranded whale poses an array of problems for the local councils and organisations tasked with disposing of the carcass. By attaching themselves to whales, who regularly travel to areas with plenty of food to eat, the barnacles have unlimited access to food. Most barnacles attach themselves on the whale’s head so that they can easily filter the food that the whale spills out of its mouth as it eats. They are guaranteed plenty of fresh food and water in this prime location. Having hundreds or thousands of hard-shelled creatures living on your body at any given time sounds uncomfortable and painful, but there’s actually a good reason for barnacles to live on whales. Please note some areas including Scotland(post codes AB, FK, IV, KW, PA, PH, HS, KA, ZE, TR, DD, PH, PA, KY, AB, DD, KW, IV, HS), Isle of Wight, Isle of Man, will need extra carriage. We no longer ship to Jersey, Guernsey or Northern Ireland. Barnacles generally don't harm whales, so there's no need to remove them. However, if there are too many, they might irritate the whale skin. When barnacles dig in, they can sometimes scrape off the top layer of the whale's skin.

The potential for a bloated carcass to rupture and spread chunks of decomposing flesh across the beach became a worry for officials in May 2023, when they cordoned off the area around a 30 tonne whale that had become beached on the East Yorkshire coast. While the carcass became something of a morbid tourist attraction, it also posed a safety risk and was removed intact by officials. Serious dilemmas occur when whales become stranded on private land, due to the financial challenges faced by the landowners when removing the remains. According to the team's measurements, Anderson says that the shear force experienced by an average-sized remora in the wake behind the blow hole of a whale swimming at the casual speed of 1.5 m/s can be as low as 0.02 Newtons, half the force of drag in the free stream above. However, Anderson notes that the average remora's suction force of 11-17 Newtons is more than a match for even the most intense parking spot on the whale, its tail, where the remora experiences roughly 0.14 Newtons of shear force. And though the forces are greater, the same is true even for large remora riding on whales swimming at much higher speeds. Now, are you ready to plunge deeper and find out more about these creatures? The ocean brims with tales of unexpected friendships and intriguing facts, and this barnacle-whale duo is just the beginning! What are barnacles? https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/some-barnacles-can-move-around-to-improve-feeding-position-69285

Genet Riding a Rhino

If you’ve ever seen whales swimming in the ocean, you’ve probably noticed the many lumps and bumps they have on their skin. These bumps are actually living creatures called barnacles. But what are barnacles, and why do giant whales allow these tiny creatures to live on their bodies?

But the relationship isn't purely one-sided. Though it might seem like barnacles get a free ride, they're not just lounging around. They aren’t draining any energy from the whales, and in a surprising twist, these tiny critters might just play the role of unexpected protectors. Their hardy shells can serve as a shield for whales against potential sea threats. Killer whales, blue whales, and orcas occasionally have barnacles, but it's rare and usually in small numbers. There are more than 1,000 barnacle species. When barnacles attach to whales, they usually have a give-and-take relationship with their massive hosts. Whale barnacles may have evolved from turtle barnacles around three million years ago. Researchers came up with three possible reasons why this might have happened: Either the whales were being aggressive, they were trying to help the dolphins in some way, or they were just playing around. Archive footage from 1970 shows the radical effort made by engineers in the US to use C-4 plastic explosives strapped to the whale carcass in an attempt to “disintegrate” it in a controlled manner, with the intention that birds and other scavengers would feed on the remains.Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filter_feeder#:~:text=Most%20species%20of%20barnacles%20are,feeders%20during%20their%20aquatic%20stage

Young barnacles secrete a cement-like substance that hardens into plates around them. These plates then mesh together, gripping the whale's skin tightly and basically becoming a somewhat permanent part of the whale.The footage highlights why the use of explosives to dispose of whale carcasses is discouraged by local councils, as the detonation resulted in overwhelming smells of rotten whale filling the local area, and large chunks of whale flesh being launched into the air and damaging vehicles parked 400 metres away. https://propspeed.com/media/news/news-item/2021/01/18/what-exactly-are-barnacles-anyway#:~:text=Because%20they%20are%20filtering%20organisms,food%20source%20for%20these%20animals Last year a video posted on Youtube documented the grisly - and sudden - release of methane gas from a whale carcass that had been decomposing off the coast of Tomales Bay, California. Another video captured the loud sounds heard from two sperm whale explosions on the beach of Ameland island in the Netherlands in 1997.