'Incredibly Rare' Orca Behavior Captured on Video for First Time

An "incredibly rare" orca behavior has been captured on video for the first time.

Stunning drone footage from the upcoming National Geographic documentary series Incredible Animal Journeys shows a fascinating orca "skincare" routine.

In the clip, an orca pod can be seen using Antarctic icebergs as "scratching posts" to rub their itchy skin.

"This is behavior so rare that it's only been witnessed by a handful of people," one of the executive producers of the series, Sarah Gibbs, told Newsweek.

The waters surrounding Antarctica, where this group of orcas (otherwise known as killer whales) live, are among the richest on the planet. But they are also the coldest. So cold, in fact, that the local orca cannot shed their skin, which creates a health problem.

"We all need to look after our skin, but this pod of orca has a unique problem. Unable to molt in these sub-zero seas, a yellowy green algae builds up on their skin," Gibbs said.

To stay healthy, the orcas have to make an almost 7,000-mile round trip to warmer, tropical waters —a journey that can take several weeks—where they can molt and keep themselves clean. Sometimes though, this can be too long to wait for the killer whales.

"If you're feeling the itch, you have to look for something closer to home," Gibbs said. "This family pod has learned to exfoliate the outer surfaces of their skin using icebergs as scratching posts. It shows just how smart and resourceful orca are, and shows another side to these 'killer' whales.

"This incredible behavior is part of the world's longest migration solely for 'skincare' and it's the first time it's ever been captured on film."

The scratching behavior was first spotted by world-renowned orca scientists John Durban and Holly Fearnbach as they conducted research on this group of Antarctic orca and the migration they make.

To date, the behavior has only been observed in this particular pod and witnessed by just a handful of people in real life.

"Using an iceberg as a 'scratching post' is an extraordinary display of animal intelligence and a skill you can see being passed down the generations as a mom shows her calf how it's done," Gibbs said. "Now scientists can use this extraordinary drone footage as the basis of brand new research into orca behavior."

When they captured the footage, the documentary film crew had only seen orca six times in six weeks of being at sea.

"Cycling two drones in shifts, they managed non-stop coverage as they tracked the pod towards the iceberg," Gibbs said. "Watching the rushes was a magical experience—it's not often you get a single shot with such incredible behavior. The color of the ocean, the iceberg and the almost dream-like approach of the orca makes this otherworldly. You're drawn into this miracle of nature as it unfolds in front of you."

Incredible Animal Journeys, which is narrated by actor Jeremy Renner, explores over the course of seven episodes the arduous and lengthy migrations that animals around the world endure.

Aside from the Antarctic orca pod, the series features other behaviors that have never been seen on film before, including the world's first footage of a humpback whale giving birth and a barn swallow, which weighs just a few ounces, battling winds of up to 60 miles per hour as it attempts to cross the Sahara Desert.