Researchers Notice Wild Killer Whales ‘French Kissing’ In Surreal Footage
It was the autumn of 2024, approximately 1.30 pm. The weather was calm and breezy in Tverrfjorden, a sheltered bay located somewhere in northern Norway. A group of researchers aboard a Zodiac support boat was venturing on a snorkelling trip. Just when they were about to jump into the waters, some observers pointed out two killer whales emerging from beneath their boat. The two whales were caught engaged in a prolonged mouth-to-mouth kiss that lasted for about two minutes. In a study published in the journal Oceans, the researchers documented this unusual “French kissing behavior” that whales were exhibiting in the wild.
This is the first tongue kissing between orcas to be ever documented since four orcas were observed tongue-kissing in Spain’s Loro Parque Zoo, tucked in the Canary Islands. From previous studies, scientists know about the various elucidated behaviours displayed by these mammals, from dominance and submission to agonism, affiliation, and reconciliation. But these whales appeared to be the first ones to be observed enjoying this unusual romantic time, both in captivity and in the wild. And while studying this may come as a bit odd, the behavior provides some stunning insights into whale behavior.
“This study presents the first documented case of tongue-nibbling between two wild killer whales in Norway. This finding confirms that the behaviour, previously observed only under human care, also occurs in the wild, thereby supporting its interpretation as part of the natural social repertoire of the species,” read the paper compiled by researchers Doctor Javier Almunia, director of Loro Parque, Johnny Van Vliet, and Debbie Bouma. Writing an elaborate description of the episode, researchers noted, “In that case, one individual protruded its tongue while the other made gentle nibbling movements. The behavior occurred in three sequences, interrupted by the withdrawal and re-extension of the tongue, lasting a total of approximately 15 seconds.”
A 2019 study published in Zoo Biology related a similar episode of whale kissing. The only difference was that the whales here were engaging in “gentle tongue bite” as an affiliative behavior rather than a sexual or combative one. It looked like one mammal touching the other mammal’s tongue with its teeth but not biting it. The behavior was observed among females and young orcas. The behavior was documented along with behaviors like swimming together, playing, and resting with each other.
In the case of Norway’s whales, the two-minute-long kissing episode involved “repeated episodes of gentle, face-to-face oral contact.” At this time, the whales were in captivity, but according to scientists, the behavior wasn’t provoked by this captivity. Instead, it was likely a “socially affiliative behavior,” involved in “reinforcing social bonds, particularly among juveniles.” Calling this a “cryptic social behavior,” scientists said behaviors like these often pique their curiosity, unlocking possibilities into whale behavior and how human science can be integrated with this behavioral science.
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