Orcas off the west coast of North America are grooming each other with kelp, in a rare sighting of marine mammals manufacturing and using tools. For several years, scientists have been keenly ...

To start a kelp-based grooming session, an orca places the bull kelp stipe on its face and nuzzles against another killer ...

Orcas were spotted using kelp as a grooming tool on each other, the first known use of tools among cetaceans for something ...

Scientists recently discovered that orcas were using bits of kelp to clean each other, ... No matter how much we think we know about killer whales, they find new ways to surprise us.

The footage conveyed a surprising trend: Dozens of orcas across all pods and age groups were using kelp to groom each other. While orcas have been known to drape kelp over their own bodies, ...

Although orcas around the world are all categorized as a single species, they don't really behave as one. Distinct populations, called ecotypes, have their own habitats, their own languages, their own ...

Southern resident orcas are using kelp tools to groom each other. The fact our local orcas do this grooming together, as a social behavior, is a big deal. Dr. Michael Weiss from the Center for Whale ...

Croft elaborated further, saying that “killer whales often make contact with other members of their group—touching with their bodies and fins—but using kelp like this might enhance this ...

Researchers have documented orcas seemingly gifting rays, seals and fish to scientists and divers, which could suggest they ...

Because the orcas are using the kelp collaboratively to massage each other, the behaviour has been named "allokelping" — allo being a term used in biology to signal "different" or "other".

FRIDAY HARBOR, Wash. — In a paper published this week, researchers shared evidence indicating Southern Resident orca whales may not only use tools, but they are fashioning them to complete a ...