Posted on 06/23/2025 12:23:26 PM PDT by Red Badger
Two whales allokelping, with a small length of kelp stem visible between them. (Credit: Center for Whale Research, NMFS NOAA Permit 27038)
In a nutshell
Southern resident killer whales are making tools from kelp to groom each other—the first documented case of tool manufacturing in marine mammals
This “allokelping” behavior involves coordinated teamwork between whale pairs and appears to serve both hygiene and social bonding functions
The behavior is unique to this critically endangered population and could be threatened by climate change affecting kelp forests
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FRIDAY HARBOR, Wash. — Scientists have spotted something extraordinary: killer whales are crafting their own back-scratching tools and using them to groom each other. Southern resident killer whales in the Pacific Northwest have been making specialized kelp tools, then working together in pairs to roll them across their bodies.
This discovery breaks new ground as the first documented case of tool manufacturing in marine mammals. It could also be the first example of wild animals creating tools that help two individuals at once.
“We observed whales fashioning short lengths of bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) stipe from complete stalks, positioning the stipe between themselves and a partner, and then rolling the kelp along their bodies,” the research team wrote in their study published in Current Biology. They’ve named this behavior “allokelping”—a social version of the already-known behavior called “kelping,” where whales drape seaweed over their bodies.
Scientists think this represents a form of social grooming that helps whales maintain healthy skin, similar to how primates pick bugs off each other. But unlike those examples, these whales are actually manufacturing tools to get the job done.
How Killer Whale Spa Day Actually Works
Marine biologist Michael Weiss and his team from the Center for Whale Research made these observations between April and July 2024 while studying southern resident killer whales in the Salish Sea using aerial drones. What they witnessed was a highly coordinated behavior that occurred across multiple whale families and age groups.
“Drone cameras allow us to see things that were invisible to us from boats or the shore. 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 didn’t think much of this at first, but we had also noticed pairs of whales staying in contact with each other for long periods – several minutes at a time,” says co-author Rachel John, who is working towards her master’s degree in Animal Behavior at the University of Exeter in England. “We looked back at lots of videos and realized 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.”
A whale will grab a bull kelp stalk by its narrow end near the holdfast (the root-like part). Using its teeth, body motion, and the kelp’s natural drag in the water, the whale tears off a manageable piece—essentially customizing the tool for the task at hand. The whale then approaches a partner, flips the kelp segment onto its rostrum (nose area), and presses both its head and the kelp against its partner’s side.
Both whales then maneuver to keep the kelp between them while rolling it across their bodies. They often adopt what researchers describe as “an exaggerated S-shaped posture” during this process. The whales maintain continuous contact for an average of 32 seconds, though some sessions lasted over three minutes.
“Bull kelp stalk is firm but flexible, like a filled garden hose, with a slippery outer surface. I suspect these features make it an ideal grooming tool,” says Weiss “What I find remarkable about this behavior is just how widespread it is in the population. Males and females of all life stages and from all three southern resident pods were seen using kelp in this way. All evidence points to it being an important part of their social lives.”
Over 12 days of observation, researchers documented 30 separate grooming sessions across 8 different days. Within just one whale family group (called J pod), 19 out of 25 individual whales participated in allokelping across all six family lines within that pod.
“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,” Weiss says in a statement. “We were amazed when we first noticed this behavior.”
Beyond Simple Play Behavior
Allokelping doesn’t appear to be simple play behavior. Unlike other object-oriented activities scientists have observed in dolphins and whales — like chase games or keep-away — allokelping follows a highly consistent pattern and involves whales of all ages.
Researchers think this behavior serves a genuine skin care function, similar to how other whale populations rub themselves against rocks or pebble beaches to remove dead skin. Whales with higher levels of skin molting were more likely to engage in allokelping, supporting the theory that the behavior actually helps with skin maintenance.
Allokelping also offers something those solo rubbing behaviors don’t: social bonding. Research showed that whales were more likely to engage in this behavior with close relatives and similarly-aged companions, mirroring patterns seen in other social bonding activities within killer whale communities.
Climate Change Puts Killer Whales At Risk
This behavior appears to be unique to southern resident killer whales. Other killer whale populations, including their northern resident cousins living in the same general region, haven’t been observed engaging in allokelping despite having access to the same type of kelp. This points to the behavior being cultural, passed down through generations within this specific whale society.
The cultural uniqueness of allokelping adds urgency to its study. Southern resident killer whales are critically endangered, with only about 75 individuals remaining in the wild. The population has been struggling with reduced salmon runs, pollution, and vessel traffic disrupting their echolocation abilities.
Climate change poses another threat to this newly discovered behavior. Rising ocean temperatures are causing declines in the bull kelp forests that these whales depend on for their grooming tools. If the kelp disappears, this remarkable cultural practice could vanish along with it.
Conservation efforts for other killer whale populations have specifically targeted preserving cultural behaviors. Northern resident killer whales’ beach-rubbing traditions, for instance, are protected under conservation protocols. Allokelping may deserve similar attention.
The discovery of tool-making whales forces scientists to reconsider assumptions about intelligence and culture in marine environments. While many animals use tools for individual benefit, allokelping requires coordination between two individuals and appears designed to strengthen social bonds while serving a practical purpose.
“What I find most remarkable is that despite this apparently being a common behavior — we see it most days we fly our drone over these whales — it hadn’t yet been discovered in this population despite nearly 50 years of dedicated observation,” says Weiss. “To me, this demonstrates not just the power of new observation methods but also how much we still have to learn about these animals.“
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Dolphins chew on pufferfish and then spit them out. Marine biologists think they do it to get stoned. The pufferfish secrete a neurotoxin and apparently the dolphins get a buzz off of it.
CC
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not as bad as seismographing for off shore wind farms
Because what else would you expect.
I live on high-bank waterfront on Whidbey Island, in Washington State. I have seen Orca whales come right up to the shore to scratch their backs on the rocky beach. Quite a sight to see!
I have the soundtrack nomination right here.
Scratch My Back by Slim Harpo. #1 on the R&B charts for two weeks in 1966.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5x7NIqga8M&list=RD-5x7NIqga8M&start_radio=1
Sounds like a first date thing...
Article:
“Climate change poses another threat”
This could have been a decent article—but could not resist throwing in insane leftist propaganda.
That’s nothing.
My basset hound, Georgie, pushed a chair from the dining room, through the living room and into the kitchen so he could use it as a ladder to climb on the countertop to eat $12 worth of homemade bread I got from the farmer’s market.
Using tools is not unique to humans and not even to hominids.
All sorts of species make and use tools.
Scientists’ shock at orcas’ kelp tool-making reveals their anthropocentric bias. Even corvids bend twigs into tools, and orcas, with larger brains and complex social structures, are far more cognitively advanced.
Most shocking is that these scientists are unaware of this bias, which hinders the scientific method and risks skewing their conclusions.
Call me when they create a tool box.
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which just goes to show...
..orcas are smarter than current day academics and “ scientists “.
soon the average fruit fly will be smarter than the regressive academics and “ scientists “
see what Godless reprobate secular humanists, marxism and DEI does to the brain ?
;-)
.
In almost every documentary or nature article these days, all is very informative when, (as in documentaries) with about 10 minutes to go, there is mention of climate change or the human’s threat to the animal. As in this article, it never fails to happen.
>> Because what else would you expect.
We’re all gonna be fried (or drowned) in 4.67 years... to heck with the allokelping whales. In fact, since our time is so short, I say let’s EAT those orcas! I have grilling tools and I know how to use ‘em for socializing!
I just ignore that stuff....................
Um...it says right in the video that they chew on them!
CC
“Um...it says right in the video that they chew on them!”
It says right in the video that they hold them gently in their mouth and rarely hurt them.
This is confirmed by the video feed. Nowhere are they seen chewing on them.
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