News Animals

Killer whales may use kelp brushes to slough off rough skin

Salish Sea orcas could be the first marine mammals known to manufacture their own tool

Two killer whales are shown rubbing a small piece of brown kelp between their bodies. One whale is to the upper left. The other is to the bottom right. The second whale's nose comes about halfway up the first's body, lining up with its dorsal fin.

Two killer whales in the Salish Sea rub a kelp stalk (brown) between their bodies.

Center for Whale Research, NMFS NOAA Permit 27038

By Erin Garcia de Jesús

A brush with kelp may help some killer whales clean up nicely.

A group of killer whales (Orcinus orca ater) residing in the Salish Sea off the coast of British Columbia and Washington tear short stalks of bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) with their teeth and use the pieces to groom one another, researchers report June 23 in Current Biology.