Beach-pebble Rubbing Ritual Excites This Pod of Orcas

Who knows why, but a pod of orcas in Canada really enjoy rubbing along this beach.

There is a pebble beach in Canada near British Columbia’s Campbell River that is frequented by a pod of orcas. This particular pod visits this spot often to rub along its stony bottom in what is being called rubbing.

No one is exactly sure why these oracs do this. There is speculation that it could be for exfoliation (the removal of dead skin) or just some form of social behavior.

Whatever the reason, it is clear they really enjoy this ‘rubbing’. The orcas have been witnessed actually coming very close to the shoreline and frolicking in the beach-pebbles.

Watch this pod of orcas enjoy Shoreline beach-pebbles in the video below

This behavior is rarely seen among other orca populations. So, that makes this behavior all the more intriguing.

 “This is the A42 group – a group of Northern resident killer whales,” Vancouver Aquarium research biologist Carla Crossman tells CTV News. “We see them rub on these beaches, and [we think] it’s probably something social – maybe a kind of ritualistic behaviour – because they’re very specific in [choosing] which beaches they go to. If they were trying to shed off dead skin, we would expect to see it in other populations.”

H/T – earthtouchnews.com

Watch this video below for a live streaming view of underwater beach-pebble rubbing… You can hear the excitement in this clip.

Watch below.. it is a live stream so, wait for some action.

Images Source: YouTube Clips , 2

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