• Education
    • Higher Education
    • Scholarships & Grants
    • Online Learning
    • School Reforms
    • Research & Innovation
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Fashion & Beauty
    • Home & Living
    • Relationships & Family
  • Technology & Startups
    • Software & Apps
    • Startup Success Stories
    • Startups & Innovations
    • Tech Regulations
    • Venture Capital
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cybersecurity
    • Emerging Technologies
    • Gadgets & Devices
    • Industry Analysis
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy
Today Headline
  • Home
  • World News
    • Us & Canada
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Middle East
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • Political Parties
    • Government Policies
    • International Relations
    • Legislative News
  • Business & Finance
    • Market Trends
    • Stock Market
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Corporate News
    • Economic Policies
  • Science & Environment
    • Space Exploration
    • Climate Change
    • Wildlife & Conservation
    • Environmental Policies
    • Medical Research
  • Health
    • Public Health
    • Mental Health
    • Medical Breakthroughs
    • Fitness & Nutrition
    • Pandemic Updates
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Tennis
    • Olympics
    • Motorsport
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV & Streaming
    • Celebrity News
    • Awards & Festivals
  • Crime & Justice
    • Court Cases
    • Cybercrime
    • Policing
    • Criminal Investigations
    • Legal Reforms
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • World News
    • Us & Canada
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Middle East
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • Political Parties
    • Government Policies
    • International Relations
    • Legislative News
  • Business & Finance
    • Market Trends
    • Stock Market
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Corporate News
    • Economic Policies
  • Science & Environment
    • Space Exploration
    • Climate Change
    • Wildlife & Conservation
    • Environmental Policies
    • Medical Research
  • Health
    • Public Health
    • Mental Health
    • Medical Breakthroughs
    • Fitness & Nutrition
    • Pandemic Updates
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Tennis
    • Olympics
    • Motorsport
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV & Streaming
    • Celebrity News
    • Awards & Festivals
  • Crime & Justice
    • Court Cases
    • Cybercrime
    • Policing
    • Criminal Investigations
    • Legal Reforms
No Result
View All Result
Today Headline
No Result
View All Result
Home Science & Environment

Orcas Are Wearing Dead Salmon as Hats, And Scientists Are Stumped : ScienceAlert todayheadline

December 3, 2024
in Science & Environment
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A
0
orca with a fish on its head
3
SHARES
6
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


A group of orcas off the west coast of North America has brought back a bizarre fashion trend not seen since the late 1980s: wearing a single dead salmon on their heads as if it was a hat.


Experts are at a loss to explain why orcas would want to wear fish in the first place, let alone why they would want to bring back the practice almost 40 years after it stopped.


The salmon hat craze was first observed in 1987 when a female orca in the Puget Sound area of the northeast Pacific was seen carrying a solitary dead fish on her nose. Within a few weeks the behavior was picked up by members of other pods, suggesting something about it must have appealed.

An orca spotted in Puget Sound in October 2024 wearing a salmon on its head. (Jim Pasola/Orca Network Whale Sighting Report)

Strangely, it would be a seasonal fashion. By 1988 the behavior was apparently passé, stopping as suddenly as it started.


Recent observations from photographers and researchers have confirmed it’s happening again.


It’s not clear if the whales are showing off, or storing food to eat later. Orcas have been known to store pieces of spare food under their pectoral fins, so this may be an adapted form of that behavior.


It’s possible there’s some significance to the hats within the communities the orcas live in. It could simply be as it seems – whimsical absurdity that amuses the animals on some playful level.


Or it could just feel good. Humpback whales have previously been seen wearing hats of seaweed, which some have speculated is because they like the sensation. Considering orcas can live for up to 90 years, it could be that some of the same whales are involved (it’s the same part of the ocean, and it’s not been seen anywhere else). Maybe it was just time for a salmon hat revival.


“Honestly, your guess is as good as mine,” Deborah Giles, the science and research director at the nonprofit Wild Orca, told Colin Barras at New Scientist.


However, while scientists may be stumped for an explanation right now, efforts are underway to find one. Plans are being made to use drones to monitor the behavior, and to try and figure out what the purpose of these hats are.


Orcas are smart animals, capable of communicating in different ways that facilitates cultural exchange across different regions. They also hunt in groups, devising intelligent hunting schemes to capture prey. Taken together, novel behaviors involving food might be expected to appear and spread from time to time.


Further observations just might reveal hidden details to this remarkable trend that make its functionality crystal clear.

“Over time, we may be able to gather enough information to show that, for instance, one carried a fish hat for 30 minutes or so, and then he ate it,” Giles told New Scientist.

Previous Post

Chicago synagogue shooter found dead in jail cell

Next Post

Sri Lanka rupee opens stronger at 290.60/65 to dollar, bonds steady todayheadline

Related Posts

Leprosy May Have Existed in The Americas Long Before Colonization Introduced It

Leprosy Was Lurking in The Americas Long Before Colonization, Study Finds : ScienceAlert todayheadline

June 3, 2025
3
lunar standstill graph

June’s Full Moon Will Be The Lowest in The Sky For Decades. Here’s Why. : ScienceAlert todayheadline

June 3, 2025
3
Next Post

Sri Lanka rupee opens stronger at 290.60/65 to dollar, bonds steady todayheadline

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Family calls for change after B.C. nurse dies by suicide after attacks on the job

Family calls for change after B.C. nurse dies by suicide after attacks on the job

April 2, 2025
Pioneering 3D printing project shares successes

Product reduces TPH levels to non-hazardous status

November 27, 2024

Hospital Mergers Fail to Deliver Better Care or Lower Costs, Study Finds todayheadline

December 31, 2024

Police ID man who died after Corso Italia fight

December 23, 2024
Harris tells supporters 'never give up' and urges peaceful transfer of power

Harris tells supporters ‘never give up’ and urges peaceful transfer of power

0
Des Moines Man Accused Of Shooting Ex-Girlfriend's Mother

Des Moines Man Accused Of Shooting Ex-Girlfriend’s Mother

0

Trump ‘looks forward’ to White House meeting with Biden

0
Catholic voters were critical to Donald Trump’s blowout victory: ‘Harris snubbed us’

Catholic voters were critical to Donald Trump’s blowout victory: ‘Harris snubbed us’

0
Antisemitism that led to Boulder, Colorado attacks must be eradicated

Antisemitism that led to Boulder, Colorado attacks must be eradicated

June 3, 2025
Qatar's PSG mission has been accomplished with Champions League win. Now what?

Qatar’s PSG mission has been accomplished with Champions League win. Now what?

June 3, 2025
South Koreans vote for president in hope of restoring stability after martial law crisis

South Koreans vote for president in hope of restoring stability after martial law crisis todayheadline

June 3, 2025
Leprosy May Have Existed in The Americas Long Before Colonization Introduced It

Leprosy Was Lurking in The Americas Long Before Colonization, Study Finds : ScienceAlert todayheadline

June 3, 2025

Recent News

Antisemitism that led to Boulder, Colorado attacks must be eradicated

Antisemitism that led to Boulder, Colorado attacks must be eradicated

June 3, 2025
3
Qatar's PSG mission has been accomplished with Champions League win. Now what?

Qatar’s PSG mission has been accomplished with Champions League win. Now what?

June 3, 2025
5
South Koreans vote for president in hope of restoring stability after martial law crisis

South Koreans vote for president in hope of restoring stability after martial law crisis todayheadline

June 3, 2025
3
Leprosy May Have Existed in The Americas Long Before Colonization Introduced It

Leprosy Was Lurking in The Americas Long Before Colonization, Study Finds : ScienceAlert todayheadline

June 3, 2025
3

TodayHeadline is a dynamic news website dedicated to delivering up-to-date and comprehensive news coverage from around the globe.

Follow Us

Browse by Category

  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Basketball
  • Business & Finance
  • Climate Change
  • Crime & Justice
  • Cybersecurity
  • Economic Policies
  • Elections
  • Entertainment
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Environmental Policies
  • Europe
  • Football
  • Gadgets & Devices
  • Health
  • Medical Research
  • Mental Health
  • Middle East
  • Motorsport
  • Olympics
  • Politics
  • Public Health
  • Relationships & Family
  • Science & Environment
  • Software & Apps
  • Space Exploration
  • Sports
  • Stock Market
  • Technology & Startups
  • Tennis
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Us & Canada
  • Wildlife & Conservation
  • World News

Recent News

Antisemitism that led to Boulder, Colorado attacks must be eradicated

Antisemitism that led to Boulder, Colorado attacks must be eradicated

June 3, 2025
Qatar's PSG mission has been accomplished with Champions League win. Now what?

Qatar’s PSG mission has been accomplished with Champions League win. Now what?

June 3, 2025
  • Education
  • Lifestyle
  • Technology & Startups
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy

© 2024 Todayheadline.co

Welcome Back!

OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Business & Finance
  • Corporate News
  • Economic Policies
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Market Trends
  • Crime & Justice
  • Court Cases
  • Criminal Investigations
  • Cybercrime
  • Legal Reforms
  • Policing
  • Education
  • Higher Education
  • Online Learning
  • Entertainment
  • Awards & Festivals
  • Celebrity News
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Health
  • Fitness & Nutrition
  • Medical Breakthroughs
  • Mental Health
  • Pandemic Updates
  • Lifestyle
  • Fashion & Beauty
  • Food & Drink
  • Home & Living
  • Politics
  • Elections
  • Government Policies
  • International Relations
  • Legislative News
  • Political Parties
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Middle East
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Cybersecurity
  • Emerging Technologies
  • Gadgets & Devices
  • Industry Analysis
  • Basketball
  • Football
  • Motorsport
  • Olympics
  • Climate Change
  • Environmental Policies
  • Medical Research
  • Science & Environment
  • Space Exploration
  • Wildlife & Conservation
  • Sports
  • Tennis
  • Technology & Startups
  • Software & Apps
  • Startup Success Stories
  • Startups & Innovations
  • Tech Regulations
  • Venture Capital
  • Uncategorized
  • World News
  • Us & Canada
  • Public Health
  • Relationships & Family
  • Travel
  • Research & Innovation
  • Scholarships & Grants
  • School Reforms
  • Stock Market
  • TV & Streaming
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy
  • About us
  • Contact

© 2024 Todayheadline.co