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The behavioral ecologist Michael Weiss interferes new drone material of the Orca pods, which he studied in the Salish Sea when he discovered one of the killer whales that wore something green in his mouth, and noticed an unusual behavior: some orcas rubbed up to 15 minutes at a time.
At first it didn’t think much about “because whales do strange things,” he said. However, similar sights on his drone camera showed further observations. “I’m zooming and sure enough, it is clear that this piece of Kelp you use to rub each other.”
In the course of just two weeks in 2024, Weiss and his team documented 30 examples of these strange interactions. They found that the orcas based in the south – an independent population of killer whales – took the strands of bull bars from the sea floor in order to roll between their bodies in a behavior that the scientists called “allokelping”. The allokelping could be a form of care for skin hygiene and a way to connect with other members of POD socially.
The discovery marks the first time that Cetaceans – marine mammals such as whales, dolphins and pork whales – were observed using an object as a tool for care.
According to the behavior, ecologists are rare to use tools in the entire animal kingdom. But when it happens, it often serves to find food or put on friends. “This is a completely different way of using an object,” said Weiss, the main author and research director of the study by the Center for Walforship in the state of Washington.
Theories about allokelping
There are two possible reasons for allokelping behavior, white and his team accepts.
Hygiene, such as treatment or removing dead skin, could be an explanation. Cetaceaers often shed dead skin, which contributes to the fact that the body keeps smooth and aerodynamic. Skin lesions, especially gray spots, are increasingly added in the orcas located in south, white, so that allokelping could be a way to treat these lesions.
The other hypothesis, Weiss said, is that the allokelping is a way to strengthen social bonds because the forest pairs that had this behavior were usually close relatives or the like in old age.
“These boys are incredibly socially connected,” said Deborah Giles, an Orca scientist at Seadoc Society, who was not involved in research. This behavior is fascinating, but not entirely surprising, she added.
Orcas are curious and tactile, with a big comparison to her body size, said Giles and added that some parts of the Killerwal brain are further developed than in humans. Each Orca population even has its own dialect.
The Cetaceans also have sensitive skin, explained Janet Mann, a behavioral ecologist at Georgetown University, who has been studying marine mammals for 37 years. It is known that Orcas rub other objects such as smooth beaches in Canada or algae mats. But it is unusual for two individual killer whales to use a tool to peel each other, she said.
“What (the study) shows that we know very little about Cetacean behavior in the wild,” said Mann.
The allocle ping would probably not have been discovered without progress in the drone and camera technology that opened the scientists “a whole new world” to better understand the complex lifestyles of Cetaceae, said Mann. Historically speaking, whales are observed by the shores or boats, which offer a limited perspective for what is happening in the water. But drones offer a look at the bird’s eye view of what sea animals do directly below the surface. It is likely that this population will have allokeling for a while, she said – only now can we see it.
Thanks to the drone material, there is a low seafaring slope between the two whales that are “allokelping”. – Center for walks research
Cultural phenomenon
Orca scientists with drone material are now likely to be looking for such behaviors, said Giles.
However, killer whales are not the only whales that are known that use tools. Some bottlenecks were carefully observed to remove and use sponges to scare prey on the sea floor.
Some other bottlenecks use their cocks to hit the floor into a circle, causing mud ring flags to catch the fish. And humpback whales used long bladder nets to catch prey.
Whether these examples make up “tools” is a topic of the debate in the scientific community, but it is regardless of the fact that they behave with the search for food in connection with food. What makes the allokelping unique are the potential advantages for health and relationships of the skin – in other words, it seems to be a cultural practice.
“This idea of Allogroming (with tools) is largely limited to primates, which makes it remarkable,” said Philippa Brake, a behavioral ecologist with the non -profit whale and dolphin maintenance that was not involved in research. “This type of time feels like a moment for Cetaceans because it proves that they don’t necessarily need a thumb to manipulate a tool.”
Brakes that examine social learning and culture in Cetaceans added that this new research “tells quite a lot about how important culture is for these species”. Every population – in this case, in Southern Resident Orcas – has a clear dialect for communication, specific feed strategies and now a unique type of instrument.
In a rapidly changing environment, brakes said: “Culture offers a phenomenal way for animals to be able to adapt” as it has for humans.
“It is more reason to ensure that we protect your habitat and behavior,” she remarked.
A “completely new” find
In fact, killer whales living in the south are critically endangered and protected nationwide in both the USA and Canada, with only 74 whales populated. And since Bulle Kelp, due to human activities that disrupt the sea floor and more frequently caused by climate change, dismantle waves in the overall ecosystem, the entire ecosystem is reduced.
Kelp forests are also a critical children’s room for the young animal of Chinook salmon -an important part of the nutrition of killer whales, said Giles. The residents of the south have spent less and less time in the Salish Sea over the years, possibly because of dwindling prey, said Monika Wieland Shields, co -founder and director of the non -profit Orca Behaviour Institute.
“This study asks me whether one of the reasons why the residents of the South continue to visit the Salish Sea even in times with low salmon frequency is to work with allokelping,” wrote Shields in an e -mail to CNN.
Research now leads to new areas of study.
“This Cetacean data point is really important because it is completely new,” said Dora Biro, an animal cognitive researcher at the Rochester University, who was not involved in the study.
Biro, who largely examined tool use in wild chimpanzees, added that examples of terrestrial tools are much further widespread than in aquatic environments. She is now working on a grant proposal with Weiss’ team to better understand the purpose of behavior.
But for brakes there is not necessarily a purpose: “The goal can only be a social bond, and that would still be a tool.”
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