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Whale Lice Help Wounded Whales
Whale-watch guide Keith Jones has seen horribly cut and wounded shales who had thousands of whale lice growing in each of the grooves left by large ship propellers.

"The whale lice serve a major life support function at a time a whale is wounded by rushing to the wound and then eating any dying or decaying flesh. This helps keep infections from taking hold."

Lice are shown on the grooves  from a propeller wound. on a gray whale.
Photo: Keith Jones