After 40 years, Orcas salmon hats are making trendy again

In the frigid waters of Puget Sound, Washington, a strange fashion statement has resurfaced after nearly four decades. Orcas, the ocean’s charismatic black-and-white predators, are once again wearing “salmon hats” and balancing dead fish on their heads as they swim.

The behavior, first observed in 1987, has puzzled scientists and thrilled whale watchers. However, the trend faded just as quickly as it started. But in October 2024, an orca named Blackberry was photographed with a giant salmon sitting near its blowhole. Fashion is cyclical, and these orcas prove it.

“We saw one with a fish on his head. So that was fun,” said Deborah Giles, science and research director for the nonprofit Wild Orca New scientist.

Why do orcas wear fish hats?

The motivation behind this strange behavior remains a mystery. “Honestly, your guess is as good as mine,” admits Deborah Giles. Scientists categorize salmon herding as a “fad” – a temporary behavior that spreads quickly within a group before disappearing.

Andrew Foote, an evolutionary ecologist at the University of Oslo, suspects that some of the orcas now participating may have been alive during the original trend in 1987. The average life expectancy of male killer whales is about 30 years, but they can live for at least 60 years. Females typically live to be around 50 years old, but can live at least 90 years in the wild.

When the original fad was first observed, it began with a single female orca carefully balancing a dead salmon on her nose while swimming. To the human eye it seemed bizarre, even nonsensical, but the behavior spread like wildfire. Within weeks, her entire group, and eventually two neighboring groups, had adopted the fad. The orcas marched through the water wearing their fish headgear, turning the tranquil river mouth into a stage for their marine performances.

The trend was as fleeting as it was captivating. By the following summer the salmon hats had disappeared and the fashion seemed to be abandoned as suddenly as it had begun. The scientists were at a loss. What could have driven these apex predators, known for their intelligence, to engage in seemingly nothing more than playful frivolity?

But the salmon hats hinted at something deeper: a glimpse into the orcas’ rich social fabric and their capacity for collaborative creativity. Like other whale and dolphin species, orcas have a culture, meaning they exhibit behaviors that are socially shared and learned within a population. Some are transmitted from older generations to younger ones, from parents to offspring. Others are shared “horizontally” between members of the same age group.

Most of the time, these culturally mediated behaviors in orcas have very practical purposes, such as spreading a new route to a fishing ground or a way to opportunistically exploit human activities for food. But passing cultural fads like salmon hats have no obvious utility, which is what makes this story so fascinating.

Similar to people living out a fleeting dance trend on TikTok or dressing in retro outfits, these behaviors underscore the cultural and social complexity of orca pods.

But perhaps there is a useful explanation for the salmon-hatting fad and its recent resurgence among orcas. South Puget Sound is currently teeming with chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta). Because orcas have more food than they can eat, they may find creative ways to play with or hide their excess. “We saw mammal-eating killer whales carrying large chunks of food under their pectoral fin,” Giles explained. However, since the salmon is too small to store safely, the top of the head could be an alternative.

Others believe that the behavior is purely recreational. Naomi Rose of the Animal Welfare Institute believes it reflects the orcas’ intelligence and penchant for fun. “It’s a very demanding thing to do something for no other purpose than to enjoy it,” she said.

All over the world, orcas have been spotted doing all sorts of bizarre activities, such as rolling in seaweed, rubbing their bodies on shingle beaches or, more recently, ramming boat oars along European coasts.

A modern take on a 1980s mystery

New technologies offer opportunities to better study these salmon-eating whales. Drones equipped with cameras could allow researchers to observe orca behavior more closely than was possible in the 1980s. “Over time, we may be able to gather enough information to show that someone, for example, carried a fish for about 30 minutes and then ate it,” Giles noted.

If orcas abandon salmon without eating them, scientists will have to rethink some of their theories. The spectacle initially offers an insight into the complex and playful world of these marine mammals. Who knows how this fad will evolve as researchers continue to monitor orca populations.