If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably been scrolling through your Instagram feed and stumbled across that gorgeous, up-close photo of a killer whale calf! There is one very noticeable feature on the whale’s face that has caused people concern for the animal. The baby has scars and markings all over its rostrum and body. No need to fear, I’m here to explain what these marks are and why they occur...
These are called rake marks! These are the scaring and marks that can be found anywhere on a killer whales body, on both wild and captive animals. Rake marks are completely natural due to orcas living in highly social societies. Animals will rake each other to assert dominance within a pod or to let another animal know that their behaviour is undesired. Mothers will do this to their calves to protect them from harm, teaching them a lesson just as any mother would. Killer whales do not have hands like us humans so use their mouths to communicate with each other; along with body rubbing, pectoral and fluke slaps, and vocalising etc. This will likely cause scaring or marks due to the characteristics of their teeth but is unlikely to cause massive injury.
Whales may also be observed with abrasions or cuts on the skin through trying to exfoliate themselves on rough surfaces, trying to rid themselves of parasites and other foreign bodies. However, calves could also injure themselves through playing with each other or even through their curiosity - if they accidentally scratch themselves on sharp rocks or objects.
Prey items, such as seals or penguins, may also cause injury to an orca’s face and body when defending themselves.
As I’ve explained, rake marks have usually nothing to do with aggression and depression unless the members within a pod are suffering from great amounts of tension and stress. This level of stress can be caused due to grief when an animal dies within a pod, between males during breeding (when they’re at their most aggressive), or even when something is new within a whale’s environment and they do not know how to cope. However, raking is naturally a part of orca behaviour and is likely to occur no matter what the circumstances are. Each individual animal is different so it is still important to consider that they may still exhibit behaviours for a variety of reasons, regardless of how unlikely the reasoning may appear to be at the time.
(Credit to @anna.everywhere for the cover image to this post)
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