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New York Times
6 days ago
- Science
- New York Times
Orcas Use Kelp as a Possible Grooming Tool
A hundred feet or more above the Salish Sea — high enough to avoid spooking any marine mammals below — a drone camera recorded orcas periodically pairing up to perform a sort of swimming, rolling hug. That was nothing new for the Southern Residents, a group of orcas in the Pacific Northwest that lives south of other groups. But when researchers inspected the drone videos, which were filmed last year, they noticed something they had not seen before: A little piece of kelp was often sandwiched between the creatures' bodies. The research, published this week in the journal Current Biology, is among the most compelling evidence yet that marine mammals make and use tools, a skill more commonly attributed to terrestrial animals like monkeys, humans and crows. Michael Weiss, an author of the study who is the research director for the Center for Whale Research in Washington State, said that the Southern Residents had long used their intelligence and social skills to adapt to a challenging environment. The group of 73 orcas, which are often called killer whales, has been shrinking for decades and was listed as endangered in 2005. 'I'm not surprised that we eventually found tool use in killer whales,' Dr. Weiss said. 'But it was obviously a surprise to see this particular behavior, because we just had no idea it was happening.' Kelp is not that hard to find in the waters near British Columbia and Washington State, where these orcas generally stay. But they were not just grabbing any old floating stalk. They were using their teeth to break off pieces, which were almost always about two feet long. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Killer whales seen grooming each other
A discovery of unique killer whale behavior may be the first documented time a marine species has been seen using and creating tools for something not food-related. The finding was made in Washington by the Center for Whale Research, and it wouldn't have happened without the diligence of researchers. 'It was almost like puzzle pieces coming together because we started noticing with the great drone camera, but we were unsure if it was something new, a one-off or two-off situation, if it's just something weird they're doing, they do weird things all the time,' said Rachel John, a researcher with the Center for Whale Research. Over several periods between April and July 2024, researchers such as John, Dr. Michael Weiss, and others watched as a whale would cut a piece of kelp loose, pin it on another Orca, then rotate its body to roll the kelp on the other whale. In some instances, the other Orca would return the favor. 'This is a major part of their social lives… we are now seeing this behavior more times than we are not,' Weiss said. The team has dubbed the behavior 'allogrooming,' and while they haven't been able to definitively show the purpose, they theorize the whales use kelp to care for each other's skin. 'We have found some evidence that whales with more dead skin are more likely to engage in this behavior, but we also need to see if they engage in this behavior enough, and whether they start to effectively remove dead skin,' Weiss said. 'It's also a case of tool manufacturing or tool fashioning. Both of those things are quite rare in animals generally and particularly rare in marine mammals.' It's the first documented case of tool use and tool creation by a marine species, according to the Center for Whale Research. CWR also says it could also potentially be the first occurrence in which a tool is created by an animal that benefits two animals at the same time, and the first use of a tool by an animal using their body, rather than an appendage. 'It's quite remarkable the way they managed to manipulate this kelp. It requires coordination between the two whales,' Weiss said. 'Their ability to coordinate their movements, to sense where the kelp is, and to have, not hand-eye coordination, but the physical ability to move their bodies the way they need to is really impressive.' The discovery was made thanks to new drones the Center acquired after a grant from the Rose Foundation. Weiss and his team are continuing to look into the behavior as they study other aspects of killer whales as well. So far, Weiss says it's almost certainly a learned behavior that is distinct in the J, K, and L pods that make up the Southern Resident Orcas. The transient Biggs Killer Whales that migrate through the Puget Sound and Salish Sea do not exhibit the same behavior, despite cutting kelp free and moving through bull kelp forests. 'We also want to look over time to see if whales who do this behavior together are more likely to then show other kind of cooperative behaviors, like hunting together and sharing food and other forms of social interaction to really demonstrate more clearly whether or not this behavior helps build social bonds,' Weiss said. The Center for Whale Research is a non-profit organization predominantly supported by public donations. For more information, you can visit their website.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Orcas' Strange Beauty Routine Revealed by Scientists For The First Time
Sometimes we all need a kelping hand – or fin. For the first time, orcas have been recorded making and using tools, fashioning pieces of kelp so that they can groom each other as they swim. The new discovery in these remarkable animals (Orcinus orca) isn't just a wonderful example of reciprocal aid. It displays several aspects of cognition and culture in a format that we had never seen in orcas before. "We found that southern resident killer whales regularly use lengths of bull kelp during social interactions, apparently as a tool to groom one another," says marine zoologist Michael Weiss of the Center for Whale Research in the US. "To find that the whales were not just using but also manufacturing tools, and that these objects were being used in a way never before reported in marine mammals, was incredibly exciting." Related: Orcas Have a Killer Technique to Hunt The Biggest Fish in The Ocean The use of tools is thought to be an important marker of intelligence in non-human animals. Although cetaceans are highly intelligent, tool use among them is not widely documented. That's at least partially because their habitat – the ocean – makes them difficult to observe. Nevertheless, we have seen tool use in bottlenose dolphins, which use sea sponges to protect their beaks while foraging. Orcas have the second-largest brain found in nature, and are among the most intelligent animals known. So it's tremendously exciting to find that they are capable of creating a tool to make their lives better. Weiss and his colleagues have been studying the critically endangered southern resident population of orcas that lives in the Salish Sea, a group with fewer than 80 members. In recent years, drone technology has dramatically upgraded our ability to observe orcas in their natural habitat, and scientists have been taking full advantage of the opportunity. "We began using a new drone to observe the whales that allowed us to see the whales and their behavior in much greater detail," Weiss explained to ScienceAlert. "We quickly started seeing whales carrying these small pieces of kelp and pressing them between each other. Once we had observed several pairs doing this behavior on multiple days, we started to think that something scientifically interesting was occurring here." On seven occasions, the orcas were seen snapping the ends off pieces of bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana), then pressing the stalk between their bodies. In an eighth case, an orca just found a suitable piece of kelp floating in a kelp mat. As they swam with their bodies pressed together, the orca pairs would roll the piece of the kelp back and forth between them for extended periods. We don't know exactly why the whales do this, but we can make a pretty good guess. Some species of cetacean, including orcas, like to frolic amid flotillas of seaweed. This is called kelping, and it helps keep their skin healthy, sloughing off dead cells and parasites. The new behavior, which Weiss and his colleagues call allokelping, is likely the next level of this form of grooming – one which confers greater benefits than just swimming through kelp. "It certainly does appear to be a social activity, and might help reinforce social bonds like other forms of grooming," Weiss explained. "Unlike swimming through a kelp mat or a kelp forest, pairs of whales can allokelp 'on the go', continuing to travel with the rest of the pod. I also suspect that they're able to target specific areas more precisely and exert greater pressure than if they were just swimming through kelp on their own." Although orcas around the world are all categorized as a single species, they don't really behave as one. Distinct populations, called ecotypes, have their own habitats, their own languages, their own hunting and dietary strategies. There are physical and genetic differences between them, and they don't intermingle or interbreed. Other orca ecotypes have been observed grooming themselves in ways that don't involve fashioning tools, such as rubbing themselves on pebble beaches. Weiss and his team believe that allokelping may be a behavior that is culturally unique to the southern resident orca population. It's a finding that highlights the importance of studying and understanding this tiny population of orcas, in order to better protect them and their habitat. "What's surprising is how much we still have to learn about this population, despite them having been studied in great detail since the 1970s!" Weiss said. "More research is very much needed to better understand the development and function of this behavior. We are very interested to see how allokelping might impact other social behaviors, as an indication of a function in social bonding. We're also keen to conduct more detailed analysis of allokelping and skin condition over time to determine what benefit the behavior is giving the whales." The research has been published in Current Biology. New Discovery of Deep Sea 'Spiders' Is Unlike Anything We've Seen Before Entire Genus of Jumping Spiders Found Hidden in New Zealand New Clues Emerge on How Life Survived 'Snowball Earth'
Telegraph
24-06-2025
- Science
- Telegraph
Watch: Orcas use seaweed tools to scratch each other's backs
Killer whales have been filmed fashioning seaweed sticks to scratch each other's backs in the first evidence of tool-making by marine mammals. Scientists spotted the behaviour in drone footage of orcas swimming in the Salish Sea, off the coast of Washington state in the US. The orcas were seen to bite off the end of a kelp stalk, position it between themselves and a partner and roll the kelp between their bodies for prolonged periods. Dr Michael Weiss, of the Centre for Whale Research (CWR), said: 'We were amazed when we first noticed this behaviour.' He added: 'The more observations we had, the more we realised they weren't just finding these pieces of kelp in the environment and grabbing them, they were actually fashioning these tools or these tools from complete kelp stalks.' Whales are known to play with seaweed and are often seen draping it over their backs or wearing it as hats in a process called 'kelping'. But this discovery is different because the kelp is deliberately selected, torn off and manipulated by two whales working together. Researchers have called the new behaviour 'allokelping', which means 'kelping with another'. The pieces of kelp the orcas use are around two feet long. The Salish Sea whales have been studied since the 1970s, and their habits were thought to be well known. But new drone technology has allowed researchers to observe behaviour that they believe may have been happening for decades without being seen. 'Happening all the time' Rachel John, a Master's student studying animal behaviour at the University of Exeter, said: 'We hadn't noticed 'allokelping' before because the videos being collected from our previous aircraft weren't of high enough quality, but the footage we're getting now shows this behaviour in great detail. 'I was watching one of those really close-up videos when I saw something that looked like a brown stick between two whales that were in contact with each other. We looked back at lots of videos and realised that rubbing kelp between their bodies wasn't just a one-off thing – it was happening all the time. 'And once we saw whales breaking off pieces of kelp intentionally, it became clear that this is not just play – this is something important in the social lives of the 'southern resident' killer whales.' Over a 12-day study period, the whales performed 'allokelping' on eight of the days and were more likely to carry out the practice on closely related whales or similarly aged partners, leading experts to suggest that it may be a form of grooming. Bull kelp stalk is firm and flexible, like a filled garden hose, with a slippery outer surface, which experts said made an ideal grooming tool. The team also saw some evidence that whales with more moulting or dead skin were more likely to take part in 'allokelping', suggesting that it may also serve as a hygienic function. Important for skin health Prof Darren Croft, of the University of Exeter and CWR's executive director, said: 'We know touch is really important. In primates – including humans – touch moderates stress and helps to build relationships. ' Killer whales often make contact with other members of their group, touching with their bodies and fins, but using kelp like this might enhance this experience. It might also be important for skin health. 'Whales and dolphins have a variety of strategies to help them slough dead skin, and this may be yet another adaptation for this purpose. 'Brown algae like bull kelp also have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties that may provide further benefits to the whales.' Other killer whale pods have been spotted rubbing their bodies on smooth stone beaches, possibly to remove dead skin and parasites. However, the Salish Sea whales have not been seen doing this, suggesting that the kelp may offer an alternative solution. The researchers said it was unclear whether the grooming behaviour was entirely unique to this population or more widespread among other whale populations and species. The study was published in the journal Current Biology.
CNN
24-06-2025
- Science
- CNN
Drone footage reveals orcas using tools in a stunning first
Editor's Note: Call to Earth is a CNN editorial series committed to reporting on the environmental challenges facing our planet, together with the solutions. Rolex's Perpetual Planet Initiative has partnered with CNN to drive awareness and education around key sustainability issues and to inspire positive action. CNN — Behavioral ecologist Michael Weiss was browsing through new drone footage of the orca pods he studies in the Salish Sea when he spotted one of the killer whales carrying something green in its mouth and noticed an unusual behavior: Some orcas were rubbing against each other for up to 15 minutes at a time. At first, Weiss didn't think much of it 'because whales do weird things,' he said. But more observations yielded similar sights on his drone camera. 'I zoom in, and sure enough, there's clear as day this piece of kelp that they're using to rub on each other.' Over the course of just two weeks in 2024, Weiss and his team documented 30 examples of these curious interactions. They found that the southern resident orcas — a distinct population of killer whales — were detaching strands of bull kelp from the seafloor to roll between their bodies in a behavior the scientists dubbed 'allokelping.' Allokelping could be a form of grooming for skin hygiene, as well as a way to socially bond with other members of the pod, the researchers reported in a new paper published Monday in the journal Current Biology. The discovery marks the first time cetaceans — marine mammals including whales, dolphins and porpoises — have been observed using an object as a tool to groom. Across the animal kingdom, using tools is rare, according to behavioral ecologists. But when it does happen, it's often for finding food or attracting mates. 'This is a quite different way of using an object,' said Weiss, the study's lead author and research director of the Center for Whale Research in Washington state. Allokelping theories There are two possible reasons behind the allokelping behavior, Weiss and his team hypothesize. Hygiene, such as treating or removing dead skin, could be one explanation. Cetaceans often shed dead skin, which helps keep their bodies smooth and aerodynamic. Skin lesions, particularly gray patches, are becoming more prevalent in southern resident orcas, Weiss added, so allokelping might be a way to treat those lesions. The other hypothesis, Weiss explained, is that allokelping is a way to strengthen social bonds, as the whale pairs seen exhibiting this behavior were usually close relatives or similar in age. 'These guys are incredibly socially bonded,' said Deborah Giles, an orca scientist at the SeaDoc Society who was not involved with the research. This behavior is fascinating but not entirely surprising, she added. Orcas are curious and tactile, with brains that are large compared with their body size, Giles explained, adding that some parts of the killer whale brain are more developed than what's seen in humans. Each orca population even has its own dialect. Cetaceans also have sensitive skin, explained Janet Mann, a behavioral ecologist at Georgetown University who has studied marine mammals for 37 years. Orcas are known to rub on other objects such as smooth-pebble beaches in Canada, or on algal mats. But it's unusual to see two individual killer whales using a tool to seemingly exfoliate each other, she said. 'What (the study) shows is that we know very little about cetacean behavior in the wild,' Mann said. Allokelping likely wouldn't have been discovered without advances in drone and camera technology, which have opened up 'a whole new world' for scientists to better understand cetaceans' complex lifestyles, Mann said. Historically, whales are observed from shore or from boats, offering a limited perspective of what's happening in the water. But drones offer a bird's-eye view of what marine animals are doing just below the surface. It's likely this population has been allokelping for a while, she said — only now we can see it. Cultural phenomenon Orca scientists with drone footage are probably going to be on the lookout for this sort of behavior now, Giles said. Killer whales aren't the only cetaceans known to use tools, though. Some bottlenose dolphins have been observed carefully removing and using sponges to scare up prey on the seabed, a sophisticated behavior that only a small fraction of the population exhibits, said Mann, who has studied the dolphins in Australia's Shark Bay. Some other bottlenose dolphins use their tails to slap the ground in a circle, creating mud-ring plumes that trap fish. And humpback whales have long used bubble nets to catch prey. Whether these examples constitute 'using tools' is a topic of debate in the scientific community, but regardless, they are all behaviors related to foraging for food. What makes allokelping unique is its potential benefits for skin health and relationships — in other words, it appears to be a cultural practice. 'This idea of allogrooming (with tools) is largely limited to primates, which is what makes it remarkable,' said Philippa Brakes, a behavioral ecologist with the nonprofit Whale and Dolphin Conservation who was not involved with the research. 'This kind of feels like a moment in time for cetaceans, because it does prove that you don't necessarily need a thumb to be able to manipulate a tool.' Brakes, who studies social learning and culture in cetaceans, added that this new research 'tells us quite a lot about how important culture is for these species.' Each population — in this case, southern resident orcas — has a distinct dialect for communication, specific foraging strategies and now a unique type of tool use. In a rapidly changing environment, Brakes said, 'culture provides a phenomenal way for animals to be able to adapt,' as it has for humans. 'It's more reason to ensure that we protect their habitat as well as their behavior,' she noted. A 'completely novel' find Indeed, southern resident killer whales are critically endangered and federally protected both in the United States and Canada, with a total population of just 74 whales. And as bull kelp is in decline due to human activities that disrupt the seabed and more frequent heat waves caused by climate change, the overall ecosystem is degrading. Kelp forests are also critical nursery habitat for juvenile chinook salmon — a key part of killer whales' diet, Giles said. Southern residents have been spending less and less time in the Salish Sea over the years, possibly because of dwindling prey, said Monika Wieland Shields, cofounder and director of the nonprofit Orca Behavior Institute. 'This study makes me wonder if one of the reasons the Southern Residents continue to visit the Salish Sea periodically even during times of low salmon abundance is to engage in allokelping,' Shields wrote in an email to CNN. The research is now leading to new areas of study. 'This cetacean data point is a really important one because it's completely novel,' said Dora Biro, an animal cognition researcher at the University of Rochester who was not involved with the study. Biro, who has mostly studied tool use in wild chimpanzees, added that examples of terrestrial tool use are much more widespread than in aquatic environments. She is now working on a grant proposal with Weiss' team to better understand the purpose of the behavior. But for Brakes, there doesn't necessarily need to be a purpose: 'The objective may just be social bonding, and that would still make it a tool.'
