Let’s get one thing straight: if you thought killer whales—those torpedo-shaped torpedoes of teeth—were all brute force and blubber, think again. Beneath their monochrome menace lies a softer, sleeker side. In a surprising twist that sounds like the setup to a New Yorker cartoon, scientists have discovered that orcas are not only using tools—they’re using them for spa treatments.
Yes, you heard that right. Welcome to the kelp-swathed wellness retreat of the Salish Sea, where endangered southern resident killer whales (Orcinus orca ater) have been caught on drone footage engaging in a behavior now dubbed “allokelping.” It’s not a euphemism. It’s tool-assisted allogrooming—and it’s weirdly adorable.
Published in Current Biology, the study by Michael Weiss and colleagues at the Center for Whale Research presents the first documented case of tool manufacture by marine mammals. That’s right. The ocean’s apex predator has entered the Stone Age—kelp edition.
Kelp Me, I’m Fabulous
Here’s how it goes down. An orca approaches a stalk of bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana)—that long, drapey seaweed that looks like Poseidon’s necktie—and proceeds to strip a short section of stipe (that’s the bendy stem part). Then, with a kind of buttery grace, the orca positions the kelp between itself and another whale and begins to roll. Slowly, deliberately. Back and forth. It’s as if they’re saying, Darling, let me exfoliate you with this bespoke sea vegetable.
In 30 such “spa sessions” captured by drones (because obviously they weren’t going to send a snorkeler in), the orcas showed a repeated, purposeful interaction with the kelp that suggests cultural learning rather than random play. We’re not talking toddler bath time here—we’re talking rituals.
It’s mutual. It’s methodical. It’s maritime grooming with flair.
The Culture of Cetacean Cleanliness
Let’s dwell on that word: culture. For years, marine biologists have known that orcas are brainy. These are creatures that live in tight-knit matrilineal pods, have dialects, pass down hunting techniques, and may or may not be plotting world domination. But this study takes things a kelpy step further: it suggests they make tools to pamper each other.
Let’s just pause there.
While chimpanzees sharpen sticks to fish for termites and dolphins use marine sponges to protect their schnozzes, tool manufacture—the active altering of an object for a specific function—is a high cognitive bar. And here are orcas doing it not for food, not for survival, but for… grooming?
Or, if we may be cynical for a second: performative wellness. Gwyneth Paltrow, meet Granny Orca.
Allokelping: Intimacy in the Deep
“We hypothesize that allokelping is a cultural behavior unique to southern resident killer whales,” the researchers note. These particular whales are already known for their quirks: they don’t interbreed with transient or offshore orca types, they have their own dialects, and they’re a little obsessed with salmon. This latest flourish adds another peculiar brick to their cultural house.
And crucially, the behavior wasn’t solo. The kelp was placed between whales—what primatologists would call “allogrooming” if it were, say, macaques picking ticks off each other in a dusty savannah. But here it’s allokelping: soothing seaweed swirls shared between ocean siblings.
It’s intimate. Tender. Possibly ticklish.
One has to wonder: is this bonding? Stress relief? Courtship? Or just orcas leaning into a luxurious life as endangered divas?
Spa Day or Something Deeper?
There’s something uncanny here—eerily human, eerily not. The ocean is always a mirror. In our killer whale cousins, we glimpse both intelligence and whimsy. One moment they’re coordinating to drown seals, the next they’re seaweed-spooning.
And that’s the Freaky bit: the way nature resists tidy narratives. These creatures, at once fearsome and tender, remind us that intelligence takes many forms. Sometimes it swims silently through the deep with a bit of kelp in tow.
So next time you’re shelling out for a salt scrub or a Himalayan seaweed wrap, just remember—you’re late to the trend. The orcas were already doing it. And they didn’t even charge admission.
Welcome to the orca spa. Bring your own kelp.
Sources:
Weiss, M. et al. (2024). “Manufacture and use of allogrooming tools by wild killer whales.” Current Biology.