Orcas craft tools for mutual cleaning

“It is the first time that the use of tools in this form was observed in marine mugs,” writes the group around Michael Weiss of the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor (US State of Washington). “Bull-Kelp stalks are sturdy, but flexible, such as a filled garden hose with a smooth outdoor space. I suspect that these properties make them an ideal foster instrument.”

Until now it was only known that Orcas and other Walarten Seag – belong to the brown algae – for themselves, for example for playing, skin care or parasites.

A special kind of physical contact
For the construction of the tool, the orcas initially separated the often many meter long stems from the Braunalge and then shared it. “We watched whales how they formed short parts of Bull-Kelp stems from complete stems,” the team writes. Then they placed a stem racing between themselves and a partner. The two whales then moved so that the stalk section kept between them while rolling it over their bodies. The research team observed the behavior in 30 cases and called the Allocle Ping.

The longest observed body contact takes about three minutes. If the contact was interrupted, the rear whale recorded the tools in some cases and re -established the campaign.

In contrast to the game behavior, the team found no evidence that the frequency of Allokeling is decreasing with age. It suspects that Allokelting is comparable to skin care behavior, as observed in other whales on stones or sand.

“It is remarkable for this behavior within the population,” said study director Weiss. “Males and women of all ages use the allokes. This suggests that it is an important part of their social life.” It was especially often between nearby family members and whales of the same age.

Important for skin health?
Allokelping differs considerably from the game behavior that was previously described in dolphins. The strong stereotypical character of this behavior in combination with its occurrence about all age and sex classes also indicate that it is not pure playful, the team writes.

In addition to the social aspect, the scientists suspect further reasons for the use of seaweed: “It can be important for skin health. Whales and dolphins have developed different strategies to withdraw the dead skin,” said co -author Darren Croft of the Center for Whale Research.

“We also know that sword whales often contact other members of their group – by touching their bodies or fins – but the use of tongs can improve this experience,” said Croft. And: brown algae such as Bull Kelp (Nereocystis Luetkeana) have antibacterial and anti -inflammatory properties that are probably good for whales.

Modern recording technology
The new observations were only possible via modern recording technology, says MIT author Rachel John of the British University of Exeter: “This orcapopulation is one of the best investigated groups in general. We have now only noted that Ping Ping was too bad for the video quality of the previous aerial photos.” The team had observed a group of swords near the coast of the Washington of the US state.

With the new findings it not only hopes to protect the orcas, but also to maintain the tang forests that shrink due to rising sea temperatures. “You could be crucial to maintain the special tool culture of the whales.” How widespread alloking is in other orcapopulations must now be further investigated.