This marine species uses seaweed tools to ‘massage’ each other | Pets-animals News

The ocean is home to some of the most intelligent and social creatures on Earth, and orcas, also known as killer whales, are among the smartest. Now, mind you, these aren’t actually whales but the largest known species of dolphin. Recently, marine biologs made a surprising discovery that certain orcas use kelp, a seaweed, as tools to massage each other. The study has been published in the journal Current Biology. 
Some orcas pick up and bite off strands of seaweed, drape them over the backs or flanks of other whales, and gently move them around. The way this entire process happens looks just like a massage. Some scients are theorising that the behaviour might have a hygiene or health function, and help the killer whales beat stress or remove parasites. Another school of thought is that this message might be a form of social play that helps strengthen social bonds within the pod.
Their black and white coloring provides countershading to blend in (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
“Let’s call it a kelp massage,” explained Prof Darren Croft from the University of Exeter and the Center for Whale Research in Washington State. “They’re using the kelp to rub between themselves.” Another term for this behaviour given the scients is “allokelping”, drawing a parallel to “allogrooming” in primates, where they spending hours picking through fur, cleaning and removing parasites.

Whatever may be the driving force, killer whales’ use of tools is a remarkable discovery, especially when few animal species display such kind of behaviour in the wild. While chimpanzees use sticks to extract termites and crows use twigs to probe for insects, this is one of the first documented cases of marine mammals employing objects in a playful, non-hunting context.
Orcas are otherwise also an intelligent species. They live in tightly knit pods that function almost like human families. They communicate through unique calls, coordinate during hunts, and now, it seems, even engage in recreational behaviors that strengthen bonds. Young orcas often learn these playful skills observing older pod members, just like how humans pass down cultural behaviours through generations. This discovery yet again proves that oceans are truly unpredictable!