A tourist pulled dry sunburnt skin off a friendly whale that swam near their boat.

Lory Barra was onboard a vessel with other holidaymakers who went on a humpback whale-watching tour off the coast of California on April 20.

Luckily, one of the marine mammals surfaced and even treated them to a breaching show leaping up and down the surface.

When the creature glided near their boat, Lory touched its head and accidentally removed the mother whale's dead skin off her face.

Footage shows tourist Lory greeting the animal when it poked its head out of the water beside their boat. She said, ‘Oh no it's skin,' after pulling a white film off the animal.

She said: ‘I realised it was whale skin. It is cool and gross at the same time.'