Orcas revive bizarre salmon hat trend in pacific waters
Orcas' troubling behaviour has been observed in the waters of the northwestern Pacific. These mammals have once again started wearing dead salmon on their heads, a trend that first emerged in the 1980s.
The macabre trend of wearing "hats" made of dead fish was first noted in 1987. According to experts from the ORCA organization, it was initiated by one of the females.
Over time, the pod adopted this behaviour, but the "trend" lasted only a year and ended in 1988. Now, nearly four decades later, orcas are once again being spotted swimming with salmon on their heads, as seen in the southern part of Puget Sound and off the coast of Point No Point in Washington State.
The new "trend" is due to a large availability of salmon
Scientists believe the trend might have returned due to orcas that remember this behaviour from the past. – We suspect that individuals who once exhibited this behaviour have started doing it again – explained Andrew Foote, an ecologist from the University of Oslo, in a conversation with New Scientist.
Wearing "hats" is an example of behaviour researchers call "trending." It involves a few individuals initiating an action that temporarily becomes popular within the group. This phenomenon has no practical purpose and fades over time.
Experts suspect that the current behaviour of the orcas may be linked to the exceptionally large availability of chums (Oncorhynchus keta), fish from the salmon family, in the southern part of Puget Sound.
The new "trend" aims to transport food
Deborah Giles from the University of Washington explains that marine mammals can store larger pieces of food under their fins. Small fish, such as salmon, are more challenging to store, so the animals transport them on their heads. Similar behaviours have been observed in other regions of the Pacific—orcas carrying food in different parts of their bodies to save it for later.
Although it is unknown if the current trend will spread more widely, the reemergence of this phenomenon is a fascinating example of social interactions in the world of wild animals.
