Orcas have apparently taken a break from sinking luxury yachts so they can focus on themselves. The animals have brought back an old whale fashion trend that hasn’t been in style in nearly four decades. This year’s hottest ocean look is once again wearing a dead salmon as a hat.
Orcas apparently went through their parents closets and loved what they found. In a story we first heard about at ScienceAlert, scientists spotted a pod of the whales off North America’s west coast swimming with dead salmons on their head. This is the first time the unusual behavior has been seen in 37 years. This sudden resurgence of an something so strange raises some pretty obvious and, more importantly, vital question. First, “LOL wut?” Second, “No, seriously, what the hell is this about?“
Well, no one really knows! This all started in the Pacific northeast in 1987 when a female orca started carrying a dead salmon on her nose. Pretty soon her fellow whales near Puget Sound were doing the same. But by 1988 that fishy conduct was already passé. The orcas gave up their dead salmon hats as quickly as they adopted it and they never did it again. Until now.
Why bring this look back now? Researchers speculate it could be a type of storage or the intelligent animals being playful. It might even have some social significance within the group or simply feel good. But the possible “why” isn’t even as much fun as the possible “who.”
These could be the same whales that wore dead salmon hats in the late ’80s! This retro look is taking off not far from where it first began and orcas live a long time.
These whales might not have gone through their parents closets at all. They might be wearing their old clothes. And if that’s the case good for them. Better yet, good for us. We’ve been looking for an excuse to bust out our old Starter Jackets. If an orca can wear a dead salmon on their head 37 years after it was hip we can wear a puffy Charlotte Hornets coat.
