Trendy toppers

Some killer whales might have killer fashions. That’s one explanation for a phenomenon observed off the coast of Washington state, where orcas seem to be doing peculiar things with dead salmon. “We saw one [orca] with a fish on its head,” researcher Deborah Giles told the New Scientist in an interview published Nov. 26. But why are orcas wearing salmon hats? No one knows for certain, but some scientists theorize the highly social killer whales have rediscovered a fad from nearly four decades ago. Back in 1987, an entire orca pod in the same area spent the summer swimming around balancing salmon on their heads. Researchers say the odd behavior may be linked to the abundant supply of salmon currently in South Puget Sound.