Last year, researchers witnessed a captivating new behavior that emerged among the Southern Resident orcas. This unique population is made up of 73 whales split into three pods. Shot in the breathtaking Salish Sea, these orca reveal unexpected and emotional facets of their lives. They even craft elaborately designed pieces of kelp to use as tools of hygiene and courtship in a mesmerizing ritual called allokelping. Such behavior immediately makes you curious about the social hierarchy and cultural traditions of these aquatic humans.
Orcas are known to rub kelp against each other up to 500 feet underwater. This playful interaction produces a therapeutic massage experience as they move freely through the water. Those eight days of filming around the stunning Pacific archipelago allowed them to capture the allokelping behavior in action 30 different times. This indicates that it has an outsized impact on their social lives. Orcas depend on bull kelp, particularly Nereocystis luetkeana, during their grooming rituals. With the right conditions, the kelp can grow to 100 feet long and is both incredibly flexible and durable, making it ideal for their specialized needs.
Understanding Allokelping
Dr. Michael Weiss and his research team used drone cameras equipped with thermal sensors to record these fascinating interactions. The video captures an incredible new orca behavior that we had never witnessed before. They are probably cementing their social relationships in particular, as powerfully suggested by close kin, close genetic kin or close maternal relatives and age mates.
“It’s clearly not just a strange quirky one-off behaviour, it’s a part of their social lives,” – Dr. Weiss
It’s important to note that the researchers never found an orca without signs of skin shedding actively allokelping. This shedding can make their skin appear greyish and very “peely” looking. Whether this behavior is a new fad or a traditional orca culture practice is unclear. What is certain is that it has profound social consequences.
“We can’t say for sure that it’s actually removing the dead skin … it could be treating something about the discomfort related to dead skin,” – Dr. Weiss
This behavior is consistent with what we’ve observed in other tool-using species. For instance, bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay use sea sponges to cover their snouts when diving for food on the ocean bottom. These kinds of discoveries highlight the cognitive sophistication of these cetaceans and their capacity to adapt to their changing environments.
Social Dynamics and Relationships
The social architecture of Southern Resident orcas is vast and deep, as they move through separate yet interwoven networks within their pods. Dr. Olaf Meynecke has long recognized the value of these relationships. He said that orcas must keep record of many interactions to be successful in their difficult social settings.
“They live in these very complex potentially challenging social environments where they’re having to track dozens of relationships,” – Olaf Meynecke
Allokelping between closely related individuals has an especially strong predisposition. This behavior helps meet practical needs and enhances bonding and social ties at the same time. By incorporating kelp into their grooming rituals, it turns out they can strengthen their social bonds as well. It makes them feel safe and supported outside of their pods.
“The orcas are grabbing it, they’re moving it, they’re actually putting it against another individual,” – Olaf Meynecke
The impact of this networked behavior goes well beyond just one set of person-to-person interactions. As researchers such as Philippa Brakes have emphasized, our efforts need to target both understanding and conserving the cultural capacities of these populations. It’s now clear that human activities are dramatically upending these delicate ecosystems. Understanding the social lives of orcas will be key to protecting them.
“We need to conserve the cultural capacity of these populations,” – Philippa Brakes
Implications for Cetacean Behavior
The finding of allokelping raises the bar for what we know about tool use in the natural world. It illustrates that this incredible talent is found across species within their everyday activities. This phenomenon isn’t limited to cetaceans. California crows, chimpanzees, and elephants are just a few examples of other animals that ingeniously use tools for grooming and daily activities.
“It’s certainly the first case of a cetacean [a whale, dolphin or porpoise] finding an object in their environment, modifying that object, and then using it as a tool,” – Michael Weiss
This discovery upends long-held ideas about intelligence and sociality in animals. The ability to manipulate objects in their environment demonstrates remarkable complex problem-solving capabilities. This counterfactual thinking ability has long been associated with advanced cognitive functioning.
