MOBY SLICK

KILLER whales “groom” each other using tools made from seaweed.

- BY STEPHEN BEECH

The “incredibly exciting” discovery is a very rare example of tool use by marine species, say scientists.

Birds, elephants and primates are all known to make tools, but examples of tool use among marine animals are much more limited.

Now a team of whale experts has discovered “widespread” tool manufacture and usage in an endangered population of resident killer whales living in the Salish Sea.

It is a part of the Pacific Ocean between British Columbia in Canada and US state Washington.

Their findings, published in the journal Current Biology, show that whales fashion tools from kelp and use them for grooming purposes.