This video from a humpback 'whale spa' shows skin care is serious — and social

Studying what whales do underwater has always been hard, but thanks to new video and geolocation technology, scientists are now able to snag little glimpses of life beneath the sea and bring them to the surface.

And what they've seen can be surprising and delightful — like humpback whales exfoliating themselves on the shallow ocean floor.

"There was definitely no intention to capture whales rolling in sand," says Jan-Olaf Meynecke, who described the behavior in a recent paper in the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering. "The best thing about science is that you never know what you're actually looking for."

The new discovery reveals how innovative deployment of more precise instruments can help expand our understanding of elusive marine species. Behaviors once hidden from sight, like the humpbacks' "sand rolling," will help paint a more complex picture of their health needs and