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.“
The narrator literally said “chewing”. Take it up with David Tennant, he’s the narrator.
CC
Cologne or Parfum de Kelp ?
Smart enough not to use torx bits.
Stopped reading at climate change.
“The narrator literally said “chewing”. Take it up with David Tennant, he’s the narrator.”
The narrator literally said they take them softly in their mouths and rarely hurt them.
Nowhere in the video are they seen chewing or hurting the pufferfish.
Louie Louie, oh Baby Me gotta go now
1,000 years from now your boss will spend all his/her time swimming in the ocean ...
Nope. Tapped out right there.
I saw a zebra using a sliding door to scratch.
Timestamp 2:37
Play it.
CC
The narrator literally said they take them softly in their mouths and rarely hurt them.
Nowhere in the video are they seen chewing or hurting the pufferfish.
Timestamp 3:00
They hold them gently in their mouths
Tmestamp 4:20
The little creatures usually survive.
I stopped reading when it mentioned climate change.🙄
Georgie meet newspaper.😏
Most shocking is that these scientists are unaware of this bias, which hinders the scientific method and risks skewing their conclusions."
Most shocking is that you misrepresent the scientist without bothering to read their paper.
Their FIRST sentence:
"The manufacture and use of tools, while widespread in terrestrial animals ..."
“
Most shocking is that these scientists are unaware of this bias, “
If you had bothered to look you would see their first listed reference making them well aware.
Animal tool behavior: the use and manufacture of tools by animals
RW Shumaker, KR Walkup, BB Beck
2024•books.google.com
This revised and updated edition of the landmark publication reveals the current state of knowledge regarding animal tool behavior. When originally published in 1980, Animal Tool Behavior was the first volume to catalog and analyze the complete literature on tool use and manufacture in non-human animals. Benjamin B. Beck showed how animals—from insects to primates—employed different types of tools to solve numerous problems. This work inspired and energized legions of researchers to study the use of tools by a wide variety of species. This new edition reveals the current state of knowledge regarding animal tool behavior, updated and revised with 300 additional references that have been published since the second edition. Through a comprehensive synthesis of studies produced through 2023, Robert W. Shumaker, Kristina R. Walkup, and Benjamin B. Beck define tool use, discuss the modes of tool use that have emerged in the scientific literature, examine all forms of tool manufacture, and address common myths about non-human tool use. Specific examples involving invertebrates, birds, fish, and mammals describe the differing levels of sophistication of tool use exhibited by animals. This volume provides a thorough framework for understanding animal tool use and manufacture
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.
Let me clarify so you can understand what I said. I did not say that scientists were UNAWARE of animal's tool making behavior (including orca's). I said that scientists' SHOCK at such behavior (in orcas in this case) revealed an anthropocentric bias.
And I said you misrepresented the scientists position without reading the scientists’ paper.
You were jerked bybsome journalist.
Stop digging.
Oh. You again. Still trying to troll, eh?
BTW, I don’t always read every article and paper linked in an article. And I’m guessing you don’t either, except when you’re trolling.
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