Orcas caught using objects to groom each other - a discovery that amazes scientists
Once again, orcas have been captured practicing behaviours that have stunned the scientific community.
“The more I learn, the more I realise how much I don’t know.” Wise words from Albert Einstein, who not only managed to capture the dumbfounding nature of the existence of the universe with this statement, but also the fascination behind the scientific process as a whole.
Scientists studying orcas in Canada must have had a similar feeling to Einstein’s when they saw what appeared to be tool usage by the marine mammals.
Drone footage captured orcas holding objects in their mouths before others swam by and appeared to ‘groom’ themselves for up to 15 minutes..
Across a period of 2 weeks, scientists captured the orcas using rolled stalks of kelp as a hairbrush over 30 times, clearly showing it was something that was invented, learned, and repeated, not just a one-time lucky event that the creatures stumbled upon. The scientists published their findings in the journal Current Biology.
“They’re not just finding objects in the environment and using them as a tool. They’re finding objects, modifying objects and using them as a tool,” said Michael Weiss, an author of the study and research director at the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor, Washington.
While it’s not certain that the animals — which can grow to nearly ten metres in length, weigh up to 10,000kg, and live for up to around 90 years — were actually grooming, the researchers have suggested that dead skin removal could be a reason behind the strange behaviour.
This curious trait is certainly not the first time that orcas have stumped scientists thanks to their intelligence. Their hunting techniques are famous, using waves, ‘karate chops’, and beach storming to capture prey. They have been seen ‘playing’ with fishing boats, bringing humans gifts, chasing and eating sharks, and throwing seals into the air; kelp ‘grooming’ is just the latest phenomenon in a long line of wonders.
Philippa Brakes, a behavioural ecologist who was not involved with the research, told CNN: “this idea of allogrooming (with tools) is largely limited to primates, which is what makes it remarkable. 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.”
Footage of an Orca hunting strategy known as “wave washing”. pic.twitter.com/su7u8T9w7e
— Oceanography (@Oceanographyy) February 1, 2023
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Orcas are a species of dolphin, not whale, and their evolutionary ‘cousins’ have also been seen using objects: bottlenose dolphins have been known to remove and use sponges to scare up prey on the seabed.
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