 Grey whales have been spotted swimming up alongside boats and letting people pick the parasites off their heads. Remarkable footage has captured the fascinating interaction off the west coast of Mexico, around 385 miles south of California, USA. Whale watching captain Paco Jimenez Franco has spent the last 20 years observing the incredible creatures in Ojo de Liebre, a lagoon on the Pacific coast of the Baja Peninsula. And he was recently filmed removing lice from a whale that was brushing up against the side of his small tourist boat. He told US news outlet, The Dodo: 'Once I removed the first one, she approached again so that I could continue to do so. 'I have done it repeatedly, with the same whale and others. It is very exciting for me.' The lice – also known as cyamid amphipods – are tiny crustaceans that live on the rough patches of a whale's skin and eat algae. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video It's not known for sure whether they are harmful to whales, with some researchers believing they can be beneficial. But Franco believes the fact the whales have returned time after time to have them taken off means it gives them some level of relief – an idea that some experts agree with, as the cyamids are likely irritating. He said the same whale has repeatedly approached his boat for more 'grooming' and that she lifts her head from the sea and remains there long enough for him to remove plenty of lice. Franco added: 'The whales certainly don't seem to mind when people pick them off, although you'd have to pick off hundreds to make much of a difference.' Paco Jimenez Franco says the same whale came back to have the lice removed after he picked them off for the first time (Picture: Reuters) Tourist Jerome Evangelio, who shared the video on Facebook, said the whale was voluntarily approaching the boat. The){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Grey whales have been spotted swimming up alongside boats and letting people pick the parasites off their heads.
Remarkable footage has captured the fascinating interaction off the west coast of Mexico, around 385 miles south of California, USA.
Whale watching captain Paco Jimenez Franco has spent the last 20 years observing the incredible creatures in Ojo de Liebre, a lagoon on the Pacific coast of the Baja Peninsula.
And he was recently filmed removing lice from a whale that was brushing up against the side of his small tourist boat.