Dec 9, 2024 · A steady decline in salmon species due to overfishing, dam construction, and other causes has landed the southern resident ecotype orca on the U.S. endangered species list.

Dec 25, 2024 · Nearly 37 years after the salmon hat fad disappeared, it made an unexpected comeback. On October 25, 2024, a male orca known as J27, or “Blackberry,” was spotted in Puget Sound balancing a dead...

Jun 27, 2023 · Orca playing with dead salmon, rather than using them as a hat. Less adorable (well, from the perspective of non-salmon) cultural behaviors seen in killer whales in the Salish Sea include...

Dec 3, 2024 · 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 were a hat.

Killer whales are once again rocking salmon hats—something they first started doing back in 1987—and it’s leaving everyone scratching their heads. (The image is an illustration / NPS Photo / Kaitlin Thoresen)

Nov 29, 2024 · But, according to a report by New Scientist, photographers started spotted killer whales donning salmon hats off the coast of the Pacific Northwest again last month — sparking renewed...

Nov 28, 2024 · Trendsetter Blackberry the orca was photographed with a salmon on her head last month in the South Puget Sound in southwest Washington -- shocking local whale watchers and researchers.

Dec 1, 2024 · Orcas off the coast of BC have been seen wearing dead salmon on their heads like hats. But he and his colleagues suspect it's playfulness.

Dec 5, 2024 · Northwest Pacific orcas have started wearing salmon hats again, bringing back a bizarre trend first described in the 1980s, researchers say.

In the 1980s, researchers documented some strange orca behavior. In the Northwest Pacific ocean, orcas were seen with dead salmon on their heads like hats, although the purpose was unknown. This ...