Never-before-seen moment two frisky killer whales are filmed KISSING in incredible footage – and they even use tongue
PHWOAR-CA Never-before-seen moment two frisky killer whales are filmed KISSING in incredible footage – and they even use tongue
THIS is the astonishing moment a pair of orcas was spotted kissing - with tongues - for the first time ever in the wild.
The killer smooch was caught on camera by scientists during a snorkelling trip in northern Norway.
Advertisement
4
Two orcas (also known as killer whales) were spotted kissing in northern Norway
Credit: Javier Almunia, et al
4
One orca extends its tongue as the other gently nibbles it
Credit: Javier Almunia, et al
4
The interaction lasted nearly two minutes
Credit: Javier Almunia, et al
The heart-warming interaction between the two orcas - also known as killer whales - took place in the dramatic Kvænangen fjords, about 68 miles northeast of Tromsø.
In the nearly two-minute-long video, the orcas are seen engaging in three separate 'kissing' episodes, lasting 10, 26 and 18 seconds each.
During these intimate moments, one orca extends its tongue while the other appears to gently mouth or nibble it.
After the final 'kiss', the highly intelligent mammals part ways and swim off in opposite directions.
Advertisement
Read more tech news
SHOCK & ORCA Pod of killer whales spotted in extremely rare sighting in the Channel
In the paper published in the journal Oceans, researchers describe the two adult orcas as engaging in 'repeated episodes of gentle, face-to-face oral contact'.
The snorkellers floated quietly and horizontally in the water - careful not to disturb the orcas - and filmed the interaction on a GoPro.
Scientists call this tactile interaction 'tongue-nibbling'.
Study author Dr Javier Almunia told Live Science that "tongue-nibbling is exceptionally rare", explaining that, until now, this behaviour had only been seen in orcas in human care.
Advertisement
While tongue-nibbling has not been recorded in other species, similar mouth-to-mouth contact has been spotted in belugas, according to Dr Almunia.
He added: "This behaviour appears to serve affiliative purposes and may play a role in reinforcing social bonds or resolving conflicts, akin to grooming or reconciliation behaviours in other highly social species."
Watch rare vid of 'glowing' albino killer whale as elusive real-life Moby Dick breaches waves leaving orca fan 'shaking'
Mouth-to-mouth contact in orcas was previously recorded in 2013 at Loro Parque, a zoo on Tenerife.
During that observation, 'one individual protruded its tongue while the other made gentle nibbling movements,' the study authors, Dr Almunia and colleagues, explain.
Advertisement
The zoo-keepers reported that tongue-nibbling behaviour had been noted in four individual orcas at the park.
Mouth-to-mouth contact was first documented in captive orcas in a 1978 study by Paul Spong and Ingrid Visser, who suggested it plays a role in maintaining social cohesion.
It comes as two pals on a fishing trip spotted what appeared to be a pod of killer whales in the Channel.
David Hilton, 64, and Paul Bradshaw, 61, were angling off the South Coast when they saw several large creatures breaching the surface.
Advertisement
They appeared to be hunting dolphins in busy international shipping lanes, just five miles south of Plymouth, Devon.
Orcas are found in oceans all over the world, but they are most commonly seen in the Pacific Northwest (US and Canada), Norway, Iceland and the Antarctic water.
But sightings in the Channel are rare.
The Channel is not a typical habitat for orcas as it is shallow and heavily trafficked.
Advertisement
4
Sightings of orcas in the Channel are rare
Credit: Getty
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
Tonight is the best night for stargazing all summer
If you're a fan of stargazing, make sure you have your eyes fixed on the skies this evening. Tonight (July 28) is the best night for stargazing all summer – and you don't want to miss it! Eagle–eyed viewers will be able to catch not just one, but two meteor showers tonight – the Delta Aquariids and Alpha Capricornids. If you're lucky, you'll be able to see up to 25 shooting stars flying overhead every hour. Crescent moon Our moon follows a cycle which repeats about once a month (29.5 days), and includes eight phases – new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, third quarter, and waning crescent. Tonight, the moon will be in the Waxing Crescent phase, meaning just a small sliver is visible in the night sky. 'This silver sliver of a Moon occurs when the illuminated half of the Moon faces mostly away from Earth, with only a tiny portion visible to us from our planet,' NASA explained. 'It grows daily as the Moon's orbit carries the Moon's dayside farther into view. 'Every day, the Moon rises a little bit later.' Alongside the crescent moon, you might notice a bright red 'star' in the night sky. This isn't actually a star at all – it's Mars. While the Red Planet is well past its brightest point this year, it remains a distinct, red dot in the night sky. For the best chance of seeing the planet, look at the moon around 45 minutes after sunset. According to Live Science, the gap between the moon and Mars will be about one degree, which is roughly the width of your pinky finger held at arm's length. Two meteor showers Arguably the most exciting event this evening is the Delta Aquariid Meteor Shower, which will sync up with the Alpha Capricornid Meteor Shower. The Delta Aquariids are active from 12 July to 23 August, but will peak between 29–30 July, meaning tonight is a perfect time to catch it. 'A moderate meteor shower peaking in late July, the Delta Aquariids kick off the summer meteor season in the Northern Hemisphere,' Royal Museums Greenwich explains. 'Although best viewed from the Southern Hemisphere, those living at mid–latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere will still be able to catch a glimpse of the meteor shower.' Tonight, experts predict that the Delta Aquariids will serve up to 20 shooting stars every hour. However, the Alpha Capricornids will provide an additional five shooting stars every hour – meaning you can expect up to 25 meteors in total. For your best chance of seeing the shooting stars, find an area well away from city lights if you can. 'Come prepared with a sleeping bag, blanket, or lawn chair – lie flat on your back with your feet facing east and look up, taking in as much of the sky as possible,' NASA says. Because meteors can be quite faint, keen astronomers need to get away from metropolitan areas. 'As with almost every shower, try and find a wide open space, as far from city lights as possible and fill your view with as much of the night sky as possible,' said Dr Greg Brown, public astronomy officer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich. Do not worry if they are not instantly visible; NASA says it takes about 30 minutes in the dark for your eyes to adapt and you will begin to see the meteors. Be patient – the show will last until dawn, so you have plenty of time to catch a glimpse.
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Daily Mail
Our ancestors were CANNIBALS: Scientists discover grisly evidence ancient human species ate children 850,000 years ago
Ancient human ancestors ate small children 850,000 years ago, a gruesome discovery suggests. Archaeologists working at the Gran Dolina cave site in Atapuerca, northern Spain, have unearthed a human neck bone belonging to a child who died sometime between the ages of two and four. It features clear butchery marks, providing direct evidence the infant was decapitated and cannibalised, they said. The vertebra was found with other bones and teeth belonging to Homo antecessor - thought to be the last common ancestor of both Homo sapiens and Neanderthals. It was uncovered by a team from the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES), who have been excavating the site for over three decades. Nearly a third of all bones found in the cave so far have cut marks that suggest these early humans were cannibals. 'This case is particularly striking, not only because of the child's age, but also due to the precision of the cut marks,' Dr Palmira Saladié, co-director of the Gran Dolina excavation. 'The vertebra presents clear incisions at key anatomical points for disarticulating the head. It is direct evidence that the child was processed like any other prey.' Experts say it is unusual to find evidence of a child being eaten and - if their theory is true - the discovery marks the earliest evidence of the practice to date. Homo antecessor lived between 1.2 million and 800,000 years ago and were stockier and shorter on average than modern humans. Their brain sizes were roughly between 1,000 and 1,150 cm³, which is smaller than the average 1,350 cm³ brains of people today. The species is believed to have been right-handed, making it different from other apes, and may have used a symbolic language, according to archaeologists. The site of the marks on the recently-discovered neck bone suggests the youngster was decapitated, the researchers said. Other adult bones recovered from the site show evidence of de-fleshing marks and intentional fractures, similar to those found on animal bones consumed by humans. 'The preservation of the fossil surfaces is extraordinary,' Dr Saladié told Live Science. 'The cut marks on the bones do not appear in isolation. Human bite marks have been identified on the bones — this is the most reliable evidence that the bodies found at the site were indeed consumed.' The new findings strengthen the idea that these early humans exploited their peers as a food resource, the team said. It could also have been a means of territorial control. The most recent Homo antecessor remains were discovered at 'Level TD6' of the excavation site, at least 4 metres (13 feet) below the surface. 'Every year we uncover new evidence that forces us to rethink how they lived, how they died, and how the dead were treated nearly a million years ago,' Dr Saladié said. Earlier evidence of cannibalism among early human relatives dates to 1.45 million years ago in Kenya. Some archaeologists suggest that before formal burials, human populations would eat the dead as part of a funerary ritual. 'What we are documenting now is the continuity of that behaviour: the treatment of the dead was not exceptional, but repeated,' Dr Saladié added. Previous examinations of skulls found at Cheddar Gorge, in Somerset, reveal early Britons were also cannibals and enjoyed drinking out of cups made form their victims' heads. The cups, which date back 14,700 years, were likely used to drink water or even blood. They may have been fashioned from the heads of vanquished enemies and used as trophies. It is also possible that they were by-products of 'crisis cannibalism' - the resorting to human flesh when little or no other food was available, the study, published in Plos One, said. To make the skull cups, the flesh and features were carefully stripped from the head, and the skulls fashioned into containers using flint 'razors' and cobble 'hammers'. WHO WERE THE HOMO ANTECESSORS? Homo antecessor is one of the earliest known varieties of human discovered in Europe, dating as far back as one million years ago. Believed to have weighed around 14 stone, Homo antecessor was said to have been between 5.5 and 6ft tall. Their brain sizes were roughly between 1,000 and 1,150 cm³, which is smaller than the average 1,350 cm³ brains of modern humans. The species is believed to have been right-handed, making it different from other apes, and may have used a symbolic language, according to archaeologists who found remains in Burgos, Spain in 1994. How Homo antecessor may be related to other Homo species in Europe has a subject of fierce debate. Many anthropologists believe there was an evolutionary link between Homo ergaster and Homo heidelbergensis. Archaeologist Richard Klein claims Homo antecessor was a separate species completely, that evolved from Homo ergaster. However, others claim Homo antecessor is actually the same species as Homo heidelbergensis, who lived in Europe between 600,000 and 250,000 years ago in the Pleistocene era. In 2010 stone tools were found at the same site in Happisburgh, Norfolk, believed to have been used by Homo antecessor. Scientists believe that these early human species would breed with one another on a regular basis. Dr Matthias Meyer, a palaeogeneticist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, in Leipzig, Germany said: 'The evolutionary history of archaic humans in the Middle Pleistocene was quite complex. 'It could be that both the ancestors of the Sima people and Denisovans interbred with another archaic group like Homo antecessor or Homo erectus.
Scottish Sun
23-07-2025
- Scottish Sun
Lethal 15-FOOT prehistoric croc ‘chomped' gigantic ‘terror bird' taller than a human in shock attack 12million years ago
Adult specimens of the crocodile creature could grow up to a whopping 33 feet long FOSSILISED bite marks on the leg of an ancient "terror bird" have been traced back to a massive crocodile that roamed Earth 12million years ago, a new study suggests. A "terror bird" - also known as Phorusrhacids - was an apex predator that would have towered over humans at over 9ft tall. 2 The indentations showed no signs of healing - suggesting the bird did not live long after, or was already dead Credit: Julian Bayona Becerra/Biology Letters) Evidence of the tussle was unearthed at the La Venta fossil site in Colombia - one of the most fossil-rich areas in South America. After analysing the fossilised remains, a team of archaeologists concluded that a 15-feet-long caiman was likely responsible for the marks. In the journal Biology Letters, the team suggested that La Venta's largest ancient caiman species, Purussaurus neivensis, was behind the bite. Although it seems like the monster responsible would not yet have been fully grown. Adult specimens of the Purussaurus neivensis could grow up to a whopping 33 feet long. While the flightless "terror birds" had little to fear on land, the new research suggests they were at risk around water. "We have learned that terror birds could also be preyed [upon] and that even being an apex predator has risks," study lead author Andrés Link, a paleontologist and biologist at the University of the Andes in Colombia, told Live Science in an email. But the scene archaeologists have painted requires some imagination. It's always possible that the terror bird simply died near a body of water and became food for a nearby caiman. Without evidence of a caiman with a belly full of "terror bird", the findings represent an anecdotal account of an aquatic apex predator feasting on a land apex predator during the middle of the Miocene epoch some 23 million to 5 million years ago. The terror bird fossil was first unveiled in a study published last year, where researchers suspected a crocodilian creature killed the bird. However, the study's authors had not yet published an analysis of the four tooth marks found on the bone. For the most recent study, the researchers created detailed 3D images of the fossil to get a closer look at the bite mark. The indentations showed no signs of healing - suggesting the bird did not live long after, or was already dead. The size and shape of the marks were also consistent with those delivered by a caiman that was around 15.1 to 15.8 feet (4.6 to 4.8 m) long, according to the study. "In my opinion this study contributes to understanding the diet of Purussaurus, the landscape of fear near the water bodies [at] La Venta during the middle Miocene and the complex ecological interactions in the protoAmazonian ecosystems of [tropical] South America," said Link.
