Footage has emerged, showing a man poking and squeezing a beluga whale's head to 'show how soft it is'.
The video was filmed in a sea life centre in Shenzhen, south China on 12 August, and it shows him trying to demonstrate to children how soft the animal's head is.
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He's thought to be an employee in an unnamed aquarium. The man said he had built a relationship with the mammal, named Dabai, and sees it every day.
He said: "Its name is Dabai, it lives in an aquarium, it is three years old and I am with it every day, our relationship is very good.
"It is very good most of the time, but sometimes it is very naughty and will spray water at me. And its IQ can reach 20% of [that of] human beings. It's very smart.
"In this video, I'm touching its head and its head is super soft. Then it laughs, super cute. I chat with it every day and it uses movements to respond to me."
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However, people who watched the video didn't think it was that 'cute'.
One said: "It's not safe to poke a beluga's head."
Another wrote: "No sunlight, no fresh air, just a tiny tank for its entire life."
The beluga whale's head is soft, not because the brain is exposed, but because it has what is known as a 'melon'.
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This is an organ that is essentially a pocket composed of fats, used to direct and change the frequency of the whale's soundwaves.
Whales communicate through 'echolocation' - essentially using their ability to project sounds to visualise their surroundings. They use this innate ability to feed and travel, as well as speak to other whales.
The melon is so soft and squishy because it is filled with oil and wax, as opposed to the brain, which is well protected and located inside the skull. This means there is no risk to the brain if the melon is pressed on.
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Of course, avoiding potential injury isn't the only reason not to poke and prod a whale's head, with many arguing they shouldn't be in captivity at all.
Featured Image Credit: ViralHogTopics: Whale