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Behavioral ecologist Michael Weiss was browsing new drone footage of Orcapod studying in the Salish Sea when he discovered one of the killer whales carrying something green in its mouth and noticed an unusual behavior.
At first, Weiss didn’t think “Because whales do weird things.” However, more observations gave him a similar view on his drone camera. “I’m zooming in, but certainly as clear as this kelp day they use to rub against each other.”
In just two weeks of 2024, Weiss and his team recorded 30 examples of these strange interactions. They discovered that southern orcas, a distinct population of southern whales, separate the horn chains of bulls from the seabed to roll between bodies in what scientists call “Ackelpin.” Allokelping is a form of skin hygiene care and could be a way to socially combine with other members of the POD, the researchers reported in a new paper published Monday in the Journal Current Biology.
The discovery is marked only when marine mammals, including whales, dolphins and mice, are observed using objects as tools of care.
According to behavioral ecologists, tools are rarely used throughout the animal kingdom. But when it happens, it’s often about finding food or attracting peers. “This is a completely different way of using objects,” says Weiss, research author and research director at the Washington Whale Research Center.
Behind Allokelping’s behavior is two reasons: Weiss and his team’s hypothesis.
Hygiene such as treatment and removal of dead skin may be one explanation. Whale disease often removes dead skin. This helps keep your body smooth and aerodynamic. Skin lesions, especially grey patches, are becoming more common in orcas in southern residents, Weiss added, so allocelpin may be a way to treat those lesions.
Other hypotheses explained that allocelpin is a way to strengthen social ties, as whale pairs exhibiting this behavior are usually close or similar in age.
“These people are incredibly socially connected,” said Deborah Giles, an ORCA scientist at the Seadoc Society, who was not involved in the research. The behavior is appealing, but not entirely surprising, she added.
Orca is curious, tactile and has a larger brain than its body size, Giles explained, adding that some of the killer whales’ brains are more developed than what humans see. Each ORCA population even has its own dialect.
Cetasis has sensitive skin, says Janet Mann, a behavioral ecologist at Georgetown University, who has studied marine mammals for 37 years. Orcas is known to rub other objects such as smooth Pebble Beach in Canada and algae mats. But it’s rare to see two individual killer whales using tools that can be seen to each other, she said.
“What the (study) shows is that you know little about vasculatic behavior in the wild,” Mann said.
Allocelpin would not have been discovered without advances in drone and camera technology. Mann said scientists have opened up a “all-new world” for better understanding of the complex lifestyles of cetaceans. Historically, whales have been observed from coasts or boats, offering a limited perspective on what is happening underwater. However, drones provide a bird’s eye view of what marine animals are doing just below the surface. This group likely has been enveloped for a while, she said — only now we can see it.
ORCA scientists with drone footage are probably keeping an eye on this type of behavior, Giles said.
However, killer whales are not the only whales known to use tools. Man, who studied dolphins in Australia’s Shark Bay, has been observed to scare prey on the seabed by carefully removing and using some bottlenorth dolphins to scare prey on the seabed.
Several other bottlenorth dolphins use their tails to smash the ground into rings, creating a plume of mud rings that trap fish. And for a long time, humpback whales have used foam nets to capture their prey.
Whether these examples constitute “tool use” is a topic of discussion within the scientific community, but nonetheless, they are all behaviors related to food foraging. What makes Allokelping unique is its potential benefits for skin health and relationships. In other words, it seems to be a cultural practice.
“This idea of the alliance (using the tool) is primarily limited to primates, which is surprising,” said Philippa Brake, a behavioral ecologist in the conservation of nonprofit whale and dolphins who are not involved in the research. “This species feels like a whale disease moment because it proves that you don’t necessarily need a thumb that can operate the tool.”
Brake, who studies social learning and culture in whale disease, added that the new study “says a lot about how important culture is to these species.” Each population (in this case, the orca of Southern residents) has a clear dialect for communication, specific foraging strategies, and now has its own type of tool use.
In a rapidly changing environment, Brake said, “culture provides incredible ways for animals to adapt, like humans.”
“It’s more reasons to ensure we protect not only their habitat but their behavior,” she pointed out.
In fact, the killer whales, a resident of the South, are extremely at risk in both the US and Canada, and are federally protected, with a total population of just 74 whales. And the entire ecosystem is degraded as Brukelp is declining due to more frequent heat waves caused by human activities that disrupt the seabed and climate change.
Kelp forests are also an important nursery habitat for young Chinook salmon. Southern residents have been spending less and less time in the Salish Sea over the years, probably due to a decline in prey, said Monika Wieland Shields, co-founder and director of the nonprofit Orca Behavior Institute.
“I think this study is one of the reasons why southerners continue to visit the Salish Sea regularly, even during periods of low salmon abundance,” Shields wrote in an email to CNN.
This research is currently leading to a new field of research.
“This Cetacean Data Point is extremely important because it is completely novel,” said Dora Biro, an animal cognitive researcher at the University of Rochester, who is not involved in the research.
Bilo, who primarily researches the use of tools in wild chimpanzees, added that examples of the use of ground tools are much more widespread than in aquatic environments. She is currently working on a grant proposal with Weiss’ team to better understand the purpose of the action.
However, when it comes to brakes, there is no need to be a purpose. “The purpose could be just social ties, and that would still be a tool.”
