Orca whales have been spotted wearing dead salmon as hats, simultaneously charming and confounding scientists around the world. On October 25, an Orca whale from a group of whales called the J pod was spotted with a dead salmon perched on top of its head as it swam through Puget Sound in Washington State, USA.

I n late October, observers off the coast of Washington State witnessed an unusual sight: orcas swimming with dead salmon perched on their heads. This behavior, first noted in 198

Though researchers have some best guesses, nobody seems to know for sure why exactly a killer whale in Washington state was wearing a dead fish as a hat.

Sometimes, nature surprises us with behavior that feels more like a quirky human trend than an animal instinct. That’s exactly what’s happening off the Pacific Northwest coast, where orcas are once again donning “hats” made from dead salmon.