Center for Whale Research, NMFS Noaa Permit 27038Two whales allokelping, with a small length of kelp stem visible between them.
Some orcas snap off pieces of kelp and create tools that they rub between their bodies—a behavior dubbed “allokelping.”
This is one of the first records of a cetacean creating and using tools. Researchers suspect this could be to exfoliate dead skin or help with infection, but this physical contact also reinforces social bonds. The findings are published in Current Biology.
The whales don’t just find the perfect piece of kelp. They actively modify the stalks and cooperate with a partner to manipulate the kelp even though they don’t have hands, says co-author Rachel John from the University of Exeter.
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The pair of orcas uses their mouths to position the kelp between their bodies, moving in a way that keeps it there. This “often involves one or both of the whales making an exaggerated ‘S-posture’ to maintain contact with a particular body part,” says John.
Only Southern Resident orcas exhibit this behavior, a reminder of the importance of protecting this vulnerable population. Southern Residents have been devastated by the loss of their main food source—Chinook salmon—and there are just 73 individuals left, John says: “This behavior, clearly a unique and important part of their culture, only exists as long as these whales do, and it can’t be resurrected if they disappear.”
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