Orcas filmed to kiss (with languages) in nature for the first time

What if we told you that the orcas have a romantic side? Believe it is true. Although they have a reputed strategically hunting marine mammals and sometimes sinking yachts in the Mediterranean, this side of these animals has now been discovered.

After the drones recently shown that the orcas like to give massage with algae to each othera new investigation in Oceans magazine revealed that also They like to kiss… with tongue.

So far, this behavior, scientifically known as “tongue-nibbling”(Browse of languages), had only been observed on orcas under human care. This limitation led investigators to question whether the behavior would be natural on wild orcas or if it would be a product of the captive environment.

However, in the waters of the fjords of Kvænangen, Norway, two wild orcas were now recorded (Orcinus orca) to be given a Sad kiss.

According to, the interaction was registered by a group of scientists during a session snorkellingand shows what the new article describes as “repeated episodes of kind oral contactface to face. ”The divers were positioned horizontally in the water to minimize the risk of disturbing the orcas.

The behavior occurred between two adult orcas and was filmed with a GoPro chamber. The interaction had a total duration of 1 minute and 49 secondsconsisting of three episodes of kisses with 10, 26 and 18 seconds, respectively.

After the last, the orcas separated and swam in opposite directions. This behavior is similar to what was observed at Loro Parque, a zoo on Tenerife Island in 2013. In this case, “one of the individuals projected the tongue while the other made smooth bibdies,” the authors explain.

Conversations with park keepers suggest that the behavior of rowing languages ​​was observed in four different orcas. Behavior has also been registered in BELUGA WARNERSwhere it is believed that it serves to reinforce social ties and is often observed in youth.

It can still be a behavior that contributes to the development of social and even motor skills Cetaceans.

“O ‘tongue-nibbling’ It’s extremely rare, ”he said Javier AlmuniaAuthor of the study. “Orcas caregivers in various facilities know behavior, but their prevalence is extremely low – it may arise and then not to be observed for several years.”

The fact that the behavior was observed in both zoological and wild contexts makes researchers more confident that this type of kiss is part of the natural behavioral repertoire of orcas.

The behavior was first mentioned in 1978 and was only now recorded in comparable images in the wildwhich demonstrates the difficulty of studying underwater behaviors in these mammals and how investing in underwater monitoring technologies can be beneficial to better know the behavior of orcas.